Susan Pearson takes a crummy job as a summer waitress in a country club restaurant where she has to wear a skimpy red halter top. She needs the job to make money to move to begin a graduate program in creative writing. Uncomfortable and embarrassed by the costume, she still manages to do the job and is excited to meet Edward Radcliffe, a charming, handsome man who takes her sailing.
During hot sex on the boat, he says the worst possible thing. Crushed, she runs away, quits her job, and moves to the new city. When he seeks her out at the new university where he’s a professor, she realizes she loves him. But after what happened, can she trust him with her heart?