It is summer at the now-familiar Rose Harbor Inn of Cedar Cove. Jo Marie is busy planning with her handyman, Mark, to create places of refuge and contemplation, so that her guests will be encouraged to spend time outside. As usual, Mark is dragging his feet and making her needs a low priority, but when he takes on a project, his plan is always perfection. When Jo Marie’s husband, Paul, was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, Jo Marie wasn’t sure she would ever be happy again. She found comfort in this small inn in Cedar Cove, and it is her goal to bring that same comfort to the guests who come to stay with her.

Ellie Reynolds is twenty-three years old and single. She has all but given up on finding that special someone and falling in love. The bitterness that fills her mother’s life is spilling over into hers. Ellie grew up under the watchful eye of her grandparents after her father abandoned her and her mother. Ellie’s mother constantly reminds her of how deceitful men can be and how their feelings can change. When Ellie meets Tom in an online social venue, they immediately click, and their conversation quickly moves into e-mail and phone conversations. Ellie thinks she might just have a chance at true love, but her mother is skeptical. Ellie and Tom make plans to meet in Cedar Cove, and Tom makes a reservation for Ellie at the Rose Harbor Inn.

Roy and Maggie have known rough waters before in their relationship. When they met in college, it seemed to be a perfect match. However, Roy’s behavior when he is out on the town with friends leaves her confused and hurt. Only a love letter from Roy accepting responsibility for his bad behavior turns the situation around. Now, married and two children later, their marriage has hit rough water again--but this time it may be Maggie who has to ask forgiveness and earn Roy’s trust again. Jo Marie has hopes that her beloved inn will help these couples to find their way back to love, and just maybe her inn will also help her find a way back to love.

Author Macomber never disappoints when she is writing about people and their relationships. The characters in her story always draw the reader in and cause us to care about the outcome.