In 1920s Minnesota, life is hard for nineteen-year-old Owen Jensen and his family after their father dies but gets considerably worse when Owen becomes involved in the deaths of a sheriff and deputy.

In September of 1943, one year after her father's death, nine-year-old Isabelle begins writing him letters, which are interspersed with letters to other members of her family, relating important events in her life and how she feels about them.

When someone you love dies, you know what doesn't die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day,...