In 1900, Catherine Wainwright, a young pianist engulfed by scandal, flees Dayton, Ohio to avoid ruin. Seeking redemption, she corresponds with Oscar Williams, a childhood acquaintance now a widower, who resides on the isolated Galveston Island in Texas. Compelled by her desperate circumstances, Catherine accepts Oscar's marriage proposal, unaware of the hardships awaiting her. Upon her arrival, she finds herself ill-prepared for the rural lifestyle and the emotional turmoil caused by Oscar's young son's mourning. The tension is palpable as Oscar's housekeeper, Nan Ogden, grapples with her own suppressed feelings for Oscar while honoring a promise to his late wife to care for the boy. As a devastating hurricane approaches, the secrets of the past and unspoken emotions come to the fore, challenging the resilience and revealing the true character of Catherine and Nan.