When fifteen-year-old Grace Branduff finds an old man dying on her doorstep, she can't understand his last words, and is mystified by the beautiful gift he leaves behind. When his death sets off a chain of events that drastically changes the course of Grace's life, she is forced to discover whom she can trust and where she belongs Haunted by the time-worn love letter the old man carried across an ocean, Police Chief Scott Gordon is determined to unravel the man's mysterious past and find out why he came to Rose Hill. The few clues he does have quickly lead him into conflict with the town's wealthiest misanthrope, the cranky, eccentric Mamie Rodefeffer. She seems unusually interested in the beautiful gift, and suspiciously reluctant to reveal what she knows about the man who delivered it. Although Scott is back in Maggie Fitzpatrick's life, it's uncertain how long their amorous truce will last. No one is more surprised than Maggie when maternal feelings she didn't know she had lead her to view Scott in a brand new light. It's May in Rose Hill, and the first signs of spring are appearing, along with the consequences of difficult choices made long ago.