It's shaping up to be a rotten summer for Rusty, a young sailing fan who lives on an island off the New England coast. He's just flunked fifth-grade math and has to go to summer school. His older sister is bossier than ever. Worst of all, his mom is far away on the mainland -undergoing treatment for her sudden, confusing, and exhausting "sadness"-while his dad struggles to keep the household together. Rusty's only refuge is in caring for and teaching himself to sail a small, beloved sailboat.
While working on his boat at the village dock one evening, Rusty meets Hazel, a feisty local artist from an old sailing family. Hazel asks-no, demands-that Rusty take her sailing. He refuses. She argues. And an unlikely friendship begins.