Emily Parmenter lives with her father and two brothers on their faded plantation in the South Carolina low country where they breed the famed Boykin hunting dogs for Charleston's elite class. Emily's mother deserted the family when Emily was a child; the only family member she feels close to is her older brother Buddy. When he tragically dies, she feels adrift within her own family and the only thing she really cares about are the dogs. Into Emily's overwhelmingly masculine universe arrives Lulu Wentworth, the privileged daughter of one of Charleston's ruling class. When Lulu's father comes down to the Parmenter estate to look at the Boykins he's heard so much about, Lulu comes with him. For Lulu, it's love at first sight: the land, the marshes, the smell of salt water on the air, and above all, the dogs. Lulu is recovering from an experience she won't talk about and the Wentworths have tried everything to make her well. But the only thing she now wants is to live on the dog farm and help in the kennels. Much to Emily's displeasure, Walter Permenter jumps at the chance to have a real child of "society" enter his very own family. Emily doesn't need another female around, and she certainly doesn't want one around who loves the dogs as much as she does. The two reach an uneasy truce that soon turns to true friendship as they learn each others secrets and share the secrets of the low country.