Single mum Carmen Lowery's life might be annoyingly imperfect, but at least it's orderly and predictable. Until a tall, dark, handsome stranger mysteriously arrives at her family's Whitsundays resort island - and turns out to be not quite a stranger after all.

American special ops pilot Bruno Michel fell off Carmen's radar five years ago after they shared the wildest night of her otherwise straitlaced life. The self-confessed fly-by-nighter when it comes to love is delighted to be temporarily reunited with his uninhibited dream woman, but there's something he doesn't know. Their liaison came with a consequence - a little girl who has his eyes.

Carmen and Bruno pick up where they left off, but the legacy of their liaison runs deep - and Bruno is hiding his own not-so-white lie about that night.

Before he ships out and Carmen's happy-family fantasy drifts away on the trade winds, they must decide whether their unexpected bond can survive life-changing secrets, meddlesome relatives, and a heartbreaking vow made decades before.