Special Agent Clay Copeland lives his job. As a behavioral specialist with the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, his days are spent traveling the country assisting other law enforcement agencies with their most disturbing and difficult cases. Clay excels at his work, maintaining an easygoing affability and sense of humor despite his frequently gruesome job. Until one case goes terribly wrong... Shaken by the loss of a young child whose death he lays at his own feet, Clay seeks refuge in the sandy beaches and plentiful feminine distractions to be found along the South Carolina coast. And no female has ever distracted him quite as much as local innkeeper Tate Hennessey. A woman with her own ghosts, Tate is a single mother to five-year-old Max. Against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the charming and handsome agent. When an outing to a traveling carnival ends with another family's tragedy, Tate and Clay are sucked into the resultant investigation into the abduction of a young teen.And neither of them can be prepared for what their chance encounter eventually uncovers.