Summer has begun, the beach beckonsâand Francesca Schnell is going nowhere. Four years ago, Francescaâs little brother, Simon, drowned, and Francescaâs the one who should have been watching. Now Francesca is about to turn sixteen, but guilt keeps her stuck in the past. Meanwhile, her best friend, Lisette, is moving on, most recently with the boy Francesca wants but canât have.
At loose ends, Francesca trails her father, who may be having an affair, to the local country club. There she meets four-year-old Frankie Sky, a little boy who bears an almost eerie resemblance to Simon, and Francesca begins to wonder if itâs possible Frankie could be his reincarnation. Knowing Frankie leads Francesca to places she thought sheâd never dare to go, and it begins to seem possible to forgive herself, grow up, and even fall in loveâwhether or not she solves the riddle of Frankie Sky.