Plot Synopsis

A Hallmark Hall of Fame production based on the book by Mary Alice Monroe. After losing her advertising job, Cara Rudland leaves Chicago to visit her mother, Lovie, in the scenic Lowcountry where she spent her childhood summers. Cara's childhood was rife with tension from her late, overbearing father, and some of this tension still hangs heavy over her impromptu homecoming. Cara and Lovie don't share the same interests, especially Lovie'spassion for preserving the local turtle population. Cara soon runs into her former flame, Brett Beauchamps,and Lovie tries to reunite the former couple with calls to Brett to fix things around the house. Cara is surprised to meet Toy, and to learn that her mother has taken this young, pregnant woman into her beach house. What she doesn't realize is that Lovie is terminally ill and the caretaking is reciprocal. Lovie, Cara and Toy visit Cara's brother Palmer, who inherited his mother's house and his father's arrogance. Cara suspects that he is mismanaging Lovie's money and is appalled when he is rude to Toy. When the doctor tells Lovie that she does not have much time left to live, Cara plans to stay for the rest of the summe, wanting to make it the best summer ever. Despite having a falling out with Cara when she rejects his efforts to rekindle their romance, Brett cares for Lovie and helps with her turtle saving efforts. When Palmer insists on selling a plot of land, Lovie finally stands up for herself. She confronts him about mismanaging her money, and refuses to let him develop her beloved beach. He pushes back at first, but upon learning about her diagnosis, retreats into sadness. Cara is offered a promotion if she returns to Chicago and is torn between her career and her new life at the beach house. Lovie must now use the time that she has left to guide Cara, Toy and Palmer toward the fulfilling lives she has always wanted for them.