Secrets always have a way of being found out, even those long buried in the past. When the big city hotshot lawyer Jack Killian returns to his ancestral home at Sweet Tides after twelve years' absence, many people were afraid of him and of the secrets they hide and want to see him gone.

Even Mayor Nora Carson's cousin, Tom, whose plans to bulldoze Sweet Tides into the ground to build a condominium complex has his own secret that he wanted to keep hidden. So, he pushes Council to move quickly on this before Jack gets in his way -- again. Despite her qualms, even Nora wants that to happen too, so Jack wouldn't have the opportunity to meet her eleven year old son, Colin, with his mischievous charming smile and the twinkle in the Killian blue of eyes.

Then, visiting his grandfather in a nursing home, Jack has an interesting conversation with a young lad reading to his grandfather. The link between them is strong and Jack quickly realizes that he is the missing link in the DNA chain. But, the big question is "How?" as he never made love to his old high school sweetheart, Nora.

Right from the traumatic start, this gripping story of many generations of love won and lost through the generations at Sweet Tides will keep you spellbound. Kathleen O'Brien paints a wonderful picture of the changing south with a lovely Christmas theme that will melt your heart. While the premise of Dr. Ethan Jacobs' cover-up is shaky and unethical, the emotion and changes of heart in the story ring true with all the characters. This is a story that you will want to read and maybe re-read again as you couldn't put it down the first time! Happy Christmas reading!