Facing homelessness and a loss of social standing after her husband cheats rich investors out of billions of dollars, Meredith and her best friend, Connie, who has troubles of her own, escape to Nantucket to heal.

"Set against Nantucket's Great Fire of 1846, this sweeping, emotional novel brings together three courageous women battling to save everything they hold dear . . . Nantucket in 1846 is an island set apart not just by its geography but by its unique circumstances. With their menfolk away at sea, often for years at a time, women here know a rare independence -- and the challenges that go with it. Eliza Macy is struggling to conceal her financial trouble...