When Vicki Stowe arrives in Nantucket for the summer with her two young sons, her best friend Melanie and her sister Brenda, she is hoping for peace, rest and comfort. Her mother always used to say that any ailment in the world - physical or emotional - could be cured by a little Nantucket sand between the toes. The three women need all the help Nantucket can offer: Brenda has just lost her prestigious job as a professor of literature; Melanie, who has been struggling for years to have a baby, has just discovered that she is pregnant - and that her husband is having an affair; Vicki herself has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing months of treatment. Although they have the best of intentions and plan to support one another while enjoying the summer, the women soon find life in a cramped cottage with only one bathroom not quite the idyll they imagined. When put-upon babysitter Brenda places a 'help wanted' ad, the three women find salvation in the form of Josh, home from college for the summer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as childminder, confidant and, eventually something more.