a surprise gift from her late husband will give a young widow the chance to do the hardest thing in the world . . . move on. on their honeymoon, the new mr. & mrs. ryan shaw made a pact: no matter the sacrifices along the way, one day they would return to sunset beach, north carolina--this time to buy their own home. but that dream was not to be. seven years into a beautiful marriage, emily is left a widow, heartbroken, and way past caring about anything. until a man approaches her, claiming to have something left to her from ryan. something secret. unsure if she can ever embrace a new life without her husband, but even less sure about continuing to stay where she is, emily heads to the coast to keep her end of the promise she once made. without delay, she becomes immersed in the lives of the locals, including the reclusive bridge tender with an unexpected past. as the community debates over building a new bridge, emily must decide whether she will build a bridge of her own, one that will take her out of a painful past and into the new life--and new love--that her lost love made possible.