When Vicki Stowe arrives in Nantucket for a summer holiday with her two young sons, her best friend Melanie and her sister Brenda, all three women are running from trouble.

Brenda has just lost her prestigious job in scandalous circumstances; Vicki has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing months of treatment; Melanie, who has been struggling for years to have a baby, has just discovered that she is pregnant - and that her husband is having an affair.

The women soon find life in a cramped cottage with only one bathroom not quite the idyll they imagined. Salvation comes in the form of Josh, who quickly becomes part of the chaotic household, helping the women but also dividing them as their feelings for him start to grow beyond friendship . . .