Painter Honor Sullivan has made a life for herself and her three daughters - Regis, Agnes, and Cecilia - at Star of the Sea Academy on the magical Connecticut shore. Here she teaches art at the convent school's beautiful seaside campus, over which Honor's sister-in-law, mother superior Bernadette Ignatius, keeps a benevolent and watchful eye. No one could have foreseen the day rebellious Regis would come home with the stunning news that she was getting married. Nor could anyone have guessed how that sudden announcement would soon change all their lives forever.

Eleven years ago, Honor thought she had the perfect home, the perfect love, the perfect life. Then her husband, brilliant photographer and sculptor John Sullivan, broke her heart - and tore their little family apart. Now, hearing of Regis's impending marriage, John has ended his self-imposed exile and returned to the family he's always loved more than anything on earth. What he finds is one daughter still hurting over his abandonment, another who barely remembers him, and a third who may be in more trouble than anyone knows. And then there is Honor herself - and a passion that may have been interrupted but that has never waned.

Some things, like sandcastles, don't survive the changing tides. But love, family, and friendship, just as fragile, have a way of standing against anything. It will take nothing short of a miracle to heal the rift between father and daughter, husband and wife, the past and the present - but a miracle is exactly what is in the works at Star of the Sea Academy. The only question is: Do you believe?