Sara Richards's world is rocked when three love letters from 1970 are delivered decades late. The letters were written by Paul Steinert, a young sailor who took her innocence with whispered words of love and promises of forever before leaving for Vietnam. Sara is left behind, broken hearted and pregnant, yearning for letters she never received.

Now, years later, she discovers the betrayal wasn't Paul's, when her mother confesses to a sin that changed their lives forever. How can Sara reveal to Paul's parents they have a granddaughter they've missed the chance to know? Even worse, how will she find the words to tell her daughter that she's lived her life in the shadow of a lie? Picking her way through the minefields of distrust and betrayal, Sara finds that putting her life together without burning any bridges will be the hardest thing she's ever done.