Eldest daughter in an unusual family, Evvie goes to spend the summer with a bedridden great-aunt, whose plutocratic and acerbic views affect her relationship with two boys she meets--one divinely handsome, the other possessing a dark mystery.
As she seeks her niche in life, Thea becomes involved in volunteer work at the local hospital.
To annoy her older sister Thea, satisfy her own ego, and raise much-needed funds for her sick younger sister, sixteen-year-old Claire, a past master at deceit and manipulation, uses a boy in love with Thea to delve into ugly secrets in the past.
Sybil's sixteenth birthday brings the Sebastian family together again--a reunion that initiates a series of crises and confrontations between the four sisters and their parents that have far-reaching consequences
Meg's sheltered life with her wealthy aunt changes after meeting Nick Sebastian at her sixteenth birthday party.