Why risk falling in love, when trusting again feels impossible? Merris Randall doesn't believe in love at first sight. Then she meets Olivia Pearce. The attraction between them is inescapable, but Olivia is deeply scarred from a damaging relationship and has vowed never to love again. Merris can relate. Until her divorce, her life had also looked perfect on the surface. Dismayed when Olivia leaves town for a long vacation on Moon Island, Merris decides to travel there, too, as if by coincidence. Not cool. But playing by the rules has not panned out, either.

She is not the only guest conflicted over ethics. Anthropologist Dr. Glenn Howick must decide how far she'll go, exploiting the spirituality of another culture for her career ends. Then there's Riley Mason, a postgrad student whose love threatens both Glenn's reputation and her most secret self. With preparations under way for the secret rituals that celebrate the guardian goddess of the island, the island's owners, Cody and Annabel, find themselves at odds over a tough decision. Annabel's cousin Melanie has come to them with a young baby and a desperate problem.