The summer people and winter people in Braden's Port do not socialize.

The winter people resent their dependence on the summer people, and the summer people look down on the winter people as providers of services. But during the summer before his senior year in high school, Michael Paeglis crosses the boundary between those who vacation at the seaside and those who live there year-round.

Michael is a boy with everything, looking for something more. His life has been mapped out by his parents, and it is a life very much like their own, but better. Yet, Michael does not want to get a business degree and go to work for his father's jewelry stores. He likes working with people and would like to be a social worker, helping people with their problems, not working behind a counter with hard, cold gems.

Michael's friend...