Anna Wilks went straight from her parents' house to her husband's. After 13 years of trying to give him a son, she's told she's sterile. Her marriage crumbles and her husband leaves her for a younger woman who's pregnant with his child. Then, Anna finds her deceased aunt Annabeth's journal and discovers her secret. Having no idea who she is now that she can't be a wife and mother, Anna shocks her family by setting out on a desperate search to find herself. She follows her aunt's journal to Mystic Valley, Vermont.

Sully has no family and has been on his own since he was 17. He's worked all over the world, seeing war, poverty, and "real" tragedy. He has no time for helpless, pampered people like Anna. Yet Sully can't get Anna off his mind, refusing to coddle her and pushing her beyond her comfort zone until she surprises herself by discovering all she's capable of and just how strong she really is. Sully isn't anything like what Anna thought she wanted yet he's exactly what she needs, and he needs her even though he doesn't know it yet. Like Mystic Valley, he calls to her soul. And like her namesake, she finds the courage to go after what she wants, only to discover a love like she never knew existed. Except in searching for the meaning of life, she uncovers a valley of secrets that will threaten the new life she fought so hard to create.