Psychiatrist Stephen Forester and his wife Brea left the frenzy of New York City ten years before in search of a quiet life in a tranquil seaside community in New Hampshire. But when the elusive Eva Hathaway steps into Stephen's office and begins to reveal the story of her own tragic past, his convictions start to crumble. Over the sweltering summer that follows, Stephen becomes more and more haunted by obscure memories of his childhood as he wonders what secret could be so terrible that Eva can only reveal it in her journal.