Hard-hearted New York novelist Dru Cassadine...known for her holiday romance stories (even though she is antilove and anti-Christmas)...is desperate to get her mojo back after a string of flops (and a not-so-subtle threat by her publisher that he'll drop her if she has another failure). She decides that a change of scenery might get her creative juices flowing and heads south for the winter, landing in a place known as Harbor Pointe. She doesn't quite get what she came for. She gets much more.

When Kristen decides to take a break from college and return home, she finds Jake, a handsome stranger, living in her old room. Her mother, Moira, explains that she invited Jake to live as a tenant to help with the house expenses. Soon, Kristen discovers not only are Jake and Moira sleeping together, but Jake has a secret, dangerous past.