At the northernmost point of Soledad County. California, lies Cape Perdido - once a thriving lumber town, now a getaway for tourists and outdoor recreationists. But when the water harvesting plans of a North Carolina company threaten the residents' livelihoods, four people get caught up in the fight to save the town in very different ways: jessie Domingo, a community liaison specialist from a New York ecological consultancy; Joseph Openshaw, a respected environmentalist, whose return to the Cape after 20 years forces him to face ghosts from his past; Steph Pace, a restauranteur and Openshaw's former love, who must confront the same ghosts and Timothy McNear, a former lumber mill owner who harbors secrets of his own. The arrival of the 'waterbaggers' will drive otherwise peaceful people to desperate acts and a dramatic series of events that will awaken the residents of Cape Perdidoto unsavoury truths about their town - an each other.