Sweet Charlotte Sinclair has no idea that "bless your heart" is the same as "screw you"—and she’s about to find out the hard way. After her mother’s death, Charlotte moved from free-wheeling California to her mother’s tiny hometown in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, longing to feel closer to her and searching for closure. Charlotte loves her status as a popular coffee shop owner and is enjoying her budding romance with local hero Will Rushton more than she’d like to admit. So why is she still struggling to find acceptance within the Crickley Creek community? There’s a secret nestled among the plantation homes and Spanish moss-covered oaks—a truth her mother’s arch rival will do anything to hide. And if Charlotte doesn’t learn how to overcome the damage some well-placed gossip can do to her reputation, she might lose everything, including her rose-colored memories of her mother. But is it possible for an outsider to belong in the deep South and still remain true to her own roots?

Krista Hassell might be a member of the poorest, least respected family in Crickley Creek, South Carolina, but she believes deep in her soul that character counts. She's finally curated the perfect plan-and boyfriend-that, together, will save her societal standing and rewrite her future. That is, until a family tragedy strikes and her mother goes off the rails...again. If only Krista could show her community who she really is beyond her old, crumbling shack on the marsh, she could find the inner peace she yearns for. Army veteran Johnny Merrick came to Crickley Creek for a wedding and decided to extend his stay in the quaint town, renting the small house next door to Krista for the summer. As their friendship grows, Krista is forced to rethink the very relationships her plan needs to succeed-and yet it might be exactly what she needs to fully embrace what fills her soul most: the marsh she's trying to escape. But only if she makes her move before the fireflies disappear for the season...