When Desiree Johnson receives an unexpected call from her brother, Ernest, Jr., about their father, she and her sixteen-year-old son, Tyree, pack up and rush to her family’s summer home in Idlewild. Desiree hasn’t been to Michigan in over seventeen years, but when her family calls, she feels she has no choice but to answer.
Arriving in the beautiful town, Desiree quickly realizes that no matter how long she has stayed away, the place still holds a special place in her heart. As the summer heats up, Desiree struggles to balance the joy of returning to the community that shaped her childhood with the overwhelming memories of the love and pain she suffered the last summer she spent there.
Tyson Rockwell is taken aback by Desiree’s return. Their relationship might have lasted only a few months each summer, but their connection was powerful. Tyson might have succumbed to family pressure and let Desiree go once before, but now that she’s back, he vows it will not happen again. He needs to prove to Desiree that he never stopped loving her. The problem is that Tyson is now married with children.
Desiree’s siblings, Donna and Ernest, Jr., have their own share of childhood secrets and adult scandals. Donna is recovering from addiction and convinced her sister’s return is all about their ailing father’s money She wants to send Desiree a message—go back where you came from or I’ll ruin you. Ernest, Jr. is determined to take his rightful place as their father’s heir-apparent, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep himself at the top, even if it means backstabbing his siblings and making sure his father never recovers.
As the summer heats up, Desiree finds herself in the midst of jealousy, piling secrets, and strong, unexpected feelings for another woman’s husband. Will she stand and face it all, or will she run like she did so many years ago?
