Max is a traveling veterinarian running from his past and turning to the comforting distortion of alcohol and prescription tranquilizers. When the charred remains of a rare sea turtle are found on one of the last untouched barrier islands of the Carolina coast, rent-a-vet Max is just sober enough to question the sheriff's explanation and begin a deeper investigation of his own. As the convergence-a celestial alignment that occurs only once every seven years-and its freak tides and strange currents approaches, Max becomes the unlikely ringleader of an alliance of smugglers, poachers, parolees, and illegals who unite to block a developer's plan to build on the island. In an even more unlikely circumstance, he finds himself drawn toward Maggie, a hostess at the liquor house who is as raw and hard as the drinks she serves. When an ex-flame shows up to offer her assistance, Max is faced with a sudden and impossible choice. He can choose to return to the city, wealth, and prominence he left behind when he lost his career to a big mistake, or he can risk a new start in a harsh but beautiful land.