Though Diane Randall’s jewelry business is a great success, her marriage is not, and she finds herself growing lonely as her children near adulthood. Meanwhile, her eighteen-year-old daughter Julia is falling dangerously in love, and Diane’s mother, Jean, is relishing her newfound freedom as a single woman in Europe. Distracted by their individual concerns, the three women are ill-prepared for the crisis that suddenly appears on Diane’s doorstep in the form of a handsome FBI agent asking about an explosive secret that’s laid buried for decades.

As the host of the successful television show Fabulous Homes, Joanna Jones travels the country showcasing the glamorous homes of the rich and famous. Despite great professional success and an intense, passionate relationship, she still feels something is missing. When an unexpected pregnancy forces her to reevaluate her life, Joanna decides to leave behind frenetic Manhattan. Beckoning her to the gorgeous island of Nantucket is an old sea captain’s house set above the Atlantic Ocean. There, Joanna builds a new life for her small family. But New York isn’t done with her yet.

Nell St. John is not living the life she imagined for herself - not by a long shot. She was once a glamorous young actress married to influential director, Marlow St. John. Together, the A-list couple was the toast of the town. But then Marlow’s star fades and tensions at home skyrocket. Marlow takes up with another woman and abandons Nell, leaving her to pay the bills and raise their two boisterous young children. A string of attractive suitors is not the answer to her lack of fulfillment, but what is? 

Heather Willette has a good life in Concord, Massachusetts—complete with a husband who runs his own business and a son to take up his mantle one day. But now that her marriage has fizzled out and Ross, her only child, is graduating from college and getting serious with his girlfriend, Heather wonders if that life is the one she really wants. Ready to seek out her own happiness and discover herself again, Heather decides to leave her husband and rent a cottage on Nantucket.

Lisa Hawley is perfectly satisfied living on her own. Having fully recovered from a brutal divorce nearly two decades earlier, she has successfully raised her kids, Juliet and Theo, seeing them off to college and beyond. As the owner of a popular boutique on Nantucket, she’s built a fulfilling life for herself on the island where she grew up.

A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. 

Twenty-six years after that amazing summer, Ariel, Sheila, Wyatt, and Nick reunite at the hotel where they first met. Now it’s called The Lighthouse and Nick owns the entire operation with his wife and daughter. Ariel and Wyatt, married for decades, arrive with their son, and Sheila’s back too, with her daughter by her side. Life hasn’t exactly worked out the way they had all hoped.

Meet Faye, Marilyn, Alice, and Shirley. Four women with skills, smarts, and secrets - all feeling over the hill and out of the race. But in a moment of delicious serendipity, they meet and realize they share more than raging hormones and lost dreams. Now, as the Hot Flash Club, where the topics of motherhood, sex, and men are discussed with double servings of chocolate cake, they vow to help each other...and themselves.

Thirty-year-old Sophie has longed to live in Manhattan but could never afford to do so—even with roommates. She has just been laid off from a job that she didn't love. When her 92 year-old great aunt invites her to stay with her for a while—in her Fifth Avenue Apartment, Sophie jumps at the chance to move to the city. She decides to temp for a while to find out what industry she wants to go to next as she is burned out from the stress of working at a law firm.

Life for the Wingate women of Amelia Island is never dull! While Raina balances the challenge of nurturing newborn twins and a budding romance, trouble arrives on her doorstep to threaten her sweet new life. And when Tori and Justin firmly disagree on an issue that affects the whole family, their love faces a test that could end their relationship forever.

At fifty-five, Madeline Harper faces an unexpected plot twist in her own life, much like the romantic tales she pens. Once a celebrated romance author, she now confronts a crumbling marriage and a career at the brink of collapse. Her latest manuscript is rejected, and her agent delivers an ultimatum: reinvent your writing or risk fading into obscurity.

Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.

Brooklyn-based Hannah is a bestselling author struggling to write her second book after personal losses. Her older sister, Sara, still lives in Chatham, Cape Cod, where they grew up, and is married with four children. Once a dedicated librarian, Sara dreams of reviving her love affair with literature, but instead, she is stuck with too many family responsibilities and a fizzling marriage.

After the loss of her single father, Josie Wills gives up her dreams and returns home to take care of her autistic teenage brother Nick. But she doesn’t just leave her dreams behind; she has to leave her first real love Julian Russell. Having been the mother figure for Nick his entire life, stepping into the role of parent comes easily for Josie. She adores Nick, and taking care of him makes her feel closer to her mother who never had the chance to see them grow up.

April Raines is facing the end of her long-term marriage after her husband begins another family. Eager for a fresh start, she returns home with her grown daughters to Crown Island, just off the coast of Southern California.