It explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher and novelist who is happily married, but resents his dependence on his wealthy father-in-law. Alison is a young waitress trying to piece her life and marriage back together in the wake of a tragedy. The provocative drama unfolds when Alison and Noah meet in Montauk at the end of Long Island.

With a murder unsolved and a betrayal exposed, the truth is suspect and shifting between the perspectives of Noah, Alison, Helen and Cole. The story now reveals the complex family ties, passionate betrayals and vengeful emotions that have resulted from the illicit summer liaison. And as the two estranged couples try individually to plan for the future, a new series of deceptions will once again force them to question everything they believed.

Three years after Noah's shocking admission of guilt at the murder trial of Scott Lockhart, he attempts to restart his life, but the damage wrought by his past decisions has made him a ghost of his former self. Alison has been raising daughter Joanie alongside Cole and Luisa in Montauk, but Alison's past continues to rear its ugly head as Cole and Luisa attempt to build their own future.

"What are you holding on to? Long past the secrets that brought them together and tore their lives apart, Noah, Alison, Helen and Cole are on separate journeys with the promise of new relationships and a fresh start. But as the past continues to surface, they question what they re holding on to as their lives keep crashing back into one another."--Provided by publisher.