Emma Hendricks is a strong, independent journalist known for getting at the truth. Needing to get away, she heads to Beacon Bay-a small coastal town in Maine-for the summer. After finding an antique bottle wedged between two rocks in the ocean, she frees it only to discover there's something inside.
Kathleen Connor is living in Beacon Bay during the 1940s in a time of war. Her husband runs the local store, but soon after their wedding, he begins to abuse her, turning her dreams into a nightmare.
Meanwhile, present day emergency room doctor and widower Logan Mayfield stitches Emmas hand. She shows him a faded, yellowed map with a coded message written at the bottom and signed, Until Tomorrow.
In a place far away and decades ago, Joseph Henry Rutherford III is serving his country the best that he can. Needing to connect with someone, he writes a long, heartfelt letter but it's mistakenly sent down the coast to Kathleen's address. The connection they form through letters creates a love they never imagined possible. When he returns from the war, they form a system of coded letters to secretly meet. When Emma's past catches up with her, will she fight for what she really wants?
A troubled present . . .
A Nor'easter is predicted in Coldwater Cove and storm chaser, Emma Ross, is desperate to improve warning times with her research so no one has to live through what she did. Armed with her equipment, she sets out to capture the storm but captures a group of men and girls crossing the frozen ice instead. When she tries to help, they shoot at her. Navy Seal Gunner Nash is on leave, choosing the cove for its lack of tourists in the harsh winter months as his destination. After three tours of duty, surviving conditions that would kill most, witnessing unspeakable acts, and being betrayed by his comrade, he prefers to be alone. While ice fishing, he hears the shot and discovers a wounded Emma. They make it to town, but the storm has hit so the investigation is put on ice until the weather clears. Looking through the pictures she snapped, Emma recognizes a missing teen. They discover a secret that could ruin Coldwater Cove for good. The clock is ticking but Emma only trusts Gunner. She knows storms, and he knows survival. Something about her is breaking down his walls. He can't let her go alone, so he follows her on her rescue mission only to realize she lied to him and now they're the ones being hunted.
An unsettled past . . .
Ten years ago Stacy Buchanan's mother-the mayor-was found dead in Coldwater Cove, Maine. Her death was ruled an accident, but Stacy never got over the feeling that something was off. Her father's health takes a turn for the worse, and he can no longer live alone. A champion swimmer turned journalist; she is forced to pass up a dream job at ESPN to return to the cove. Former marine turned FBI agent-Trent West-has thought of nothing for the past ten years except his secret mission. Undercover as Trent Clark-a delivery man for Worldwide Parcel Service-he moves to the cove and befriends the Buchanan's. After Stacy finds a key piece of evidence that proves her mother's death was no accident, the case gets reopened. She can't move on with her life or find closure until justice is served, but a desperate killer is still out there and will do anything to keep the truth buried in the past. The only person she trusts is Trent, who keeps turning up whenever she needs him. He offers to help her find the killer, but she discovers he has a few secrets of his own. Secrets that link him to her mother's case, making Stacy doubt everything she thought she knew and threaten her chance at finally being happy.
Anna Wilks went straight from her parents' house to her husband's. After thirteen years of trying to give him a son, she's told she's sterile. Her marriage crumbles and her husband leaves her for a younger woman who's pregnant with his child. Then, Anna finds her deceased aunt Annabeth's journal and discovers her secret. Having no idea who she is now that she can't be a wife and mother, Anna shocks her family by setting out on a desperate search to find herself. She follows her aunt's journal to Mystic Valley, Vermont.
Sully has no family and has been on his own since he was seventeen. He's worked all over the world, seeing war, poverty, and 'real' tragedy. He has no time for helpless, pampered people like Anna. Yet Sully can't get Anna off his mind, refusing to coddle her and pushing her beyond her comfort zone until she surprises herself by discovering all she's capable of and just how strong she really is. Sully isn't anything like what Anna thought she wanted yet he's exactly what she needs, and he needs her even though he doesn't know it yet. Like Mystic Valley, he calls to her soul. And like her namesake, she finds the courage to go after what she wants, only to discover a love like she never knew existed. Except in searching for the meaning of life, she uncovers a valley of secrets that will threaten the new life she fought so hard to create.
