Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. In the Beyond, she's assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three 'nudges' to change the outcome of events on earth. Daughter Willa is on her third miscarriage; daughter Carson partying until all hours, and son Leo is currently 'off again' with his high-maintenance girlfriend. Vivi watches Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. How should Vivi use her nudges-- or should she?