Y/n Maybank has spent her whole life hiding what really happens at home, protecting both herself and her older brother JJ Maybank from their father’s abuse while pretending everything is normal around the Pogues. Quiet, guarded, and fiercely loyal, Ava struggles to trust people until Pope Heyward slowly becomes the one person she can rely on. As the summer grows more dangerous and secrets begin surfacing, friendships are tested, old wounds reopen, and Ava is forced to decide whether she can finally stop surviving and start letting herself be loved. Set in the world of Outer Banks, the story follows family trauma, loyalty, first love, and finding safety in the people who stay.