Nora Bridge, famous talk show host and newspaper columnist loved for her moral advice, walked out on her marriage and young daughters. Many years later, her now-estranged youngest daughter, Ruby, a struggling comedienne, has never forgiven Nora, and uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humour.

The tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora's past and their estrangement suddenly becomes headline news. And when Nora is injured in an accident and a glossy magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother, Ruby returns home under false pretences to take care of the woman she hasn't spoken to for almost a decade.

On Summer Island in the San Juans where Ruby grew up, at the lovely old house on the water filled with childhood memories of love, joy and belonging, she is also reunited with her first love and his brother. The three of them had been inseparable until the summer that Nora left and everyone's hearts were broken. What begins as Ruby's betrayal evolves into an exploration of her family's past.

Witty, wise, and vulnerable, Nora is desperate to reconcile with her daughter. As the magazine deadline draws near, Ruby is forced to grow up and at last look at her mother - and herself - through the eyes of a woman. And she must, finally, allow herself to understand the meaning of maternal love.