When Cathy Sosnowsky and her family first joined the Hemming Bay Community, a cooperative formed to preserve a large piece of forested land on a remote coastal island of British Columbia, she found the idea of experiencing the raw wilderness appealing. But as her husband Woldy and his brother Vic thrive in this new environment, Cathy begins to feel like she's not in her element. The wild paradise she envisioned reveals itself as a harsh and hostile environment, the water too cold to swim, the beaches rocky and jagged. Cathy withdraws to her work, her love of raising her family, and her passion for sharing meals sourced from local delicacies with her new friends. But when their lives take a tragic turn with the loss of their three children, one to a fatal and tragic accident and two to addiction, the couple begin to drift apart. Ironically, Cathy's writing becomes her link to Heartstone Lodge, drawing her back to the support of the community and the wilderness she shared with her children.