Penelope Anderson has spent the past 10 summers tucked into her favorite little room at Hazel Poleman's lovely old guesthouse. Penny has made some wonderful friends in the lakeside town, and in many ways, this place feels more like home...well, than home does. This year, however, might just be the last time she is able to get away. There are pressing needs back in the city that she cannot escape from forever.

Ward St. James has temporarily come back to the lake to help rescue his father's floundering boat repair business. There’s no shortage of work to be had, however, and Ward realizes there's more going on at home than he'd originally thought. Now, his plans to keep his stay in Autumn Lake short and sweet have been blown out of the water, and he's floundering under the burden of responsibility that's been inadvertently thrust on him.

Hazel Poleman is getting glimpses of the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the light most people like talking about. She too knows each summer at the lake might be her last, but she's got a few really good reasons to stick around as long as she possibly can. One of those reasons is the guesthouse that's been in her family for more than 100 years, and she’s come up with a plan to make sure her home doesn’t fall into the wrong hands when she’s no longer able to hold onto it herself. But getting the pieces–and people–of her plan to work together is a whole lot harder than she’d imagined.