Late September 1957. Henry and Effie, very young newlyweds from Georgia, arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon and find the town deserted. Feeling shy and isolated, they decide to cut the trip short. But before they leave, they meet a glamorous set of people who sweep them up into their drama: Clara, a beautiful socialite who feels her youth slipping away; Max, a wealthy playboy and Clara's lover; and Alma, Max's aloof and mysterious half-sister, to whom Henry is irresistibly drawn. The empty beach town becomes their playground, as Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with irrevocable consequences.