On a dreary spring day in Brooklyn, Lottie Wilkes and Rose Arbuthnot spot an ad on their childrens preschool bulletin board:
Hopewell Cottage Little Lost Island, Maine. Old, pretty cottage to rent on a small island. Springwater, blueberries, sea glass. August.
Neither can afford it, but they are smittenLottie could use a break from her overbearing husband and Rose from her relentless twins. On impulse, they decide to take the place and attract two others to share the steep rent: Caroline Dester, an indie movie star whos getting over a very public humiliation, and elderly Beverly Fisher, whos recovering from heartbreaking loss. If its not a perfect quartet, surely it will be fine for a month in the country.
When they arrive on the island, they are transformed by the salt air; the breathtaking views; the long, lazy days; and the happy routine of lobster, corn, and cocktails on the wraparound porch. By the time of the late-August blue moon, real life and its complications have finally fallen far, far away. For on this idyllic island they gradually begin to open up: to one another and to the possibilities of lives quite different from the ones theyve been leading. Change cant be that hard, can it?
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