Kate Moreton is in Ireland on sabbatical from her teaching position at Dartmouth College when she meets Ozzie Ferriter, a fisherman and a veteran of the American war in Afghanistan. The Ferriter family history dates back centuries on the remote Blasket Islands, and Ozzie --- a dual citizen of Ireland and the United States --- has retreated to the one place that might offer him peace from a war he cannot seem to leave behind. The two fall deeply in love and attempt to live on an island of their own making. When his demons lead Ozzie to become reckless with his life --- and Kate’s --- she flees for America. But soon a letter arrives informing Kate that her heroic husband has been lost at sea, and Kate must decide whether it is an act of love to follow him or an act of mercy to forget.

Heather Mulgrew plans to travel abroad with her friends after college, come back to a great career in September, and head into a life where not much is left to chance. But that was before an encounter on an overnight train introduces her to Jack, a passionate adventurer who changes the course of her journey and her life. Throwing Heather's careful itinerary to the wind, they follow Jack's grandfather's journal through post-World War II-era Europe. As September looms, Jack urges Heather to stay with him and give in to the romance of their experience; Heather convinces him to return to the United States. Jack has a secret that could change everything. And Heather’s world is about to be shaken to the core.