A questionable accident claims the lives of Colbi West's parents, and she blames her family's opulent lifestyle for the tragedy. Angered by unnecessary risks money can buy, she sets aside a promising law career and leaves Michigan to outrun emotional pain. When the road east ends at the ocean in North Carolina she meets two women who encourage her to stay in Locus Point and open a wildlife rehabilitation shelter. Although ignorant of the field, gentle prodding and Colbi's notion that living in the south on modest means will provide a simpler life far removed from the chaotic legal system and affluent lifestyle she and her family shared, persuade her to stay. Her new life in the sleepy coastal town becomes problematic when value systems clash, and she realizes more needs saving than pelicans and opossums. Faced with unexpected and distressing complications, her tendency to run again is caged by a promise made she will not break, even if it means going to jail.