National Park Service biologist Ruth Campbell discovers a body on the beach near Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Her life shifts out of her comfort zone, but not nearly as much as when the newest park policeman, attractive Gage Hampton, arrives to take her statement. She's determined to stay as far from him as possible. Scarred by her past, Ruth attempts to avoid young men, but she realizes that avoiding Gage Hampton will be harder than she thought.

Another body washes up with the surf, and Gage is intent on discovering who the killer is. When Ruth's uncle, Owen Lawrence, arrives searching for a long-lost treasure, both Gage and Ruth find themselves pulled into the search, and things become sinister as the killer grows desperate.

Can they find the treasure before the killer does? Or will he silence them and sail away with the treasure too?