Vivacious and spontaneous, Jenna Ward is confident about everything except the one man who has held her heart for years: quiet, reliable Pete Lacroux. After failing again and again to catch his eye, and worn down by her mother's new cougar lifestyle, Jenna finally decides to give up on Pete and start exploring other men. As the eldest of five siblings and caretaker to an alcoholic father, boat craftsman Pete has spent his life doing the right thing, with no room for a real relationship. But when Jenna picks up a hard-bodied construction worker, jealousy flares and forces Pete to confront feelings for her he never knew he had. He proves to be far from the reserved man everyone assumes, passionate and intense beneath the calm, yet his responsibilities still leave little space for love. As their circle of friends gathers for another summer at the Cape Cod cottages, Jenna has to decide whether she can handle the real Pete Lacroux, and Pete has to decide whether he can finally let someone in after years of holding everyone at arm's length.