Having met and fallen in love with her husband when they were only fourteen, she has dedicated nearly sixteen years to trying to be the perfect socialite wife that she felt he deserved. Now approaching thirty, she gradually begins to realize that she has cultivated a fairly miserable life for herself. But before she can untangle all of the knots, a devastating accident takes the life of her husband. She flees to a run-down lakeside cottage and struggles with the relief she finds in her newfound freedom and the guilt she feels over her husband’s death. And her mixed feelings become even more complicated when she realizes that her husband’s cousin and childhood friend lives across the lake. While she cannot deny the attraction she has felt toward this man since they shared a passionate kiss as teenagers, she knows that Alec would never forgive her for acting on that attraction. Can Elena finally accept that she's worthy of true love and passion, or will she continue to strive to meet the rigid standards she sets for herself in an effort to please her dead husband?
