How far would a young boy go to save his mother from heartbreak?

When her controlling husband’s body is found in the Thames, Joss returns to her Cornish roots with 12-year-old Ollie, hoping time and change will heal them both. Her confidence increases as she keeps her parents’ guesthouse business afloat, despite the attentions of a local land agent with designs on their handsome property. But Joss has a blind spot: her son.

Traumatised by the circumstances of his father’s death, Ollie has appointed himself her guardian. Unknown to Joss, he has secretly begun to neutralise any perceived threat to her well-being. Then ‘Cal’ McCalvey enters their world.

Yacht restorer, lifeboat volunteer, neglectful parent, McCalvey’s presence enriches but disrupts their lives. Ollie rediscovers joy aboard his exquisite sloop Kara, while an unlikely friendship between Joss and McCalvey evolves into covert romance. But McCalvey’s past is about to catch up with him. In nightmares, he is haunted by the memory of a locked room, a woman’s soft voice, and a child he needs to save.

As his suspicions about McCalvey grow, Ollie determines to save his mother from another destructive relationship – whatever the cost.