Torn between a sense of duty and her dreams of living an independent life, a young woman wrestles with the pain of her past and her hopes for the future in this emotive retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set along the shores of Lake Erie.

Ohio, 1899. Since her mother’s death years ago, Alice Elliot has endeavored to keep her family afloat, despite her father’s foolish spending and mounting debts. A skilled artist and capable household manager, Alice struggles to read, which has proven an obstacle in securing a life outside her father’s control. When he rents out the family home for the summer to vacation among high society, Alice must choose: go with him or travel to the shores of Lake Erie to learn the sailmaking trade at her brother-in-law’s company. Alice quickly seizes the job opportunity, believing it could be a pathway toward an independent future. But it also means returning to the place where she rejected the man she loved, convinced he was too much like her father.

Following nearly a decade of scrimping and saving, Captain Frederich Wycliff is about to prove to himself—and others—that he is a trustworthy businessman. All he must do now is see his schooner’s sail mended and earn the last money required to sail for Canada and purchase a fleet of ships for his own company before the offer expires. After discovering Alice, who once shattered all his future hopes, has returned, Frederich is desperate to avoid reliving past heartbreak. He throws himself into work and turns his attention toward spirited Leah Musgrove. But as he and Alice continue crossing paths, he remembers everything that drew him to her that long-ago summer.

Despite himself, Frederich wonders if he could dare offer Alice his heart one last time. And as summer marches toward autumn, Alice must reckon with her past mistakes and find the courage to claim the life and love she truly wants, before the chance is lost forever.