1947: Fires are racing along the coast of Maine after a summer-long drought, ravaging thousands of acres, causing unprecedented confusion and fear. Five months pregnant, Grace Holland is left alone to protect her two toddlers when her moody and unpredictable husband Gene joins the volunteers fighting to bring the fires under control. Along with her best friend, Rosie, and Rosie's two young children, Grace watches helplessly as their houses go up in flames and they are forced to walk into the ocean as a last resort. When dawn comes, their lives are forever changed: homeless, penniless and left to face an uncertain future in a town that no longer exists...