Moving on can often seem like a mountain too high to climb. Such is the fate of Shelley Stevens, a recently widowed woman about to move to the coast of Maine. As she prepares her belongings for the move, she finds the mysterious image of a little boy behind her wedding photo.

That’s the enigmatic introduction to The Silver Tide by author Jeannie Spafford. It raises the question of whether the boy could be an illegitimate son of her late husband, Josh. Shelley’s daughters Leah and Rose, as well as her new friend Liz and her best friend Marie, eventually lead her on a quest to find the mysterious boy and to put her former life behind her.

As her family slowly regroups, she gains new members, and romance blossoms again. The boy, Sam, also becomes part of Shelley’s life. But ever since Shelley was confronted with the idea of an estranged child from Josh, she has been haunted by a recurring dream involving the little boy.