The time is June, 1952. The place is a small village on the coast of Maine. Bill is a veteran reconnaissance pilot who still suffers from battle fatigue. His affliction has not abated since the end of WWII. It cost him the love of his life. One summer night, Bill meets another veteran who is renting the cottage next door for two weeks. Bill invites the neighbor, Jim, over for a drink. They get to talking and exchange histories, both of which contain a kind of forced separation from the women they loved. One night near the end of his stay, Jim reaches the ghastly climax of his story and then walks out. The next morning, he is gone. The following summer, Bill, still troubled by not knowing the end of Jim's story, inserts himself into the bubble of that tale and not only meets the woman Jim spoke of but uncovers the dark mysteries of an island of seven cottages owned by seven women.