Stella Flanders is the oldest woman on Goat Island. Throughout her life, she has never crossed the reach that separates the isle from the mainland. She has spent her entire existence in that small, close-knit community that is almost as welcoming as a family and in which she has always had everything she needed. But as a freezing winter descends upon the island, Stella begins to see visions of those she once loved, calling her toward the Reach. Perhaps the time has come for her to embark on that journey she never wished to take.
In the early 1970s, the military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva Family - Rubens, Eunice, and their five children - live at a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.
When a woman's first love suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with a charming, but abusive neurosurgeon is upended, and she realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future.