It is the aftermath of a tragic automobile accident. Elizabeth and Philip Boucher and their grown son Paul have plunged over a cliff into the ocean. Their bodies are never recovered. Ralph Shannon, an invalid and the family patriarch and Jenny, his twenty-two year old granddaughter remain desolate in their home on the California coast. Michael, Jenny's fiancé, is devastated to have her withdraw from him to cling to her grieving grandfather. While agonizing over his dead daughter's portrait, Ralph decides to commission Gilbert Engress, a noted artist, to paint Jenny. What ensues is a passionate love affair. While on the beach Jenny spots a fisherman dressed as her father, fishing from his favorite site. Her hysterics causes him to disappear. Comforting her Gilbert insists it is a cruel coincidence. While his passions are waning, she is more enamored. Ralph, who detested his son-in-law, also sees the fisherman. Who is he? Ralph's recollections offer the reader a history of early Carmel, and San Francisco from the 1906 earthquake through to 1971, which includes Cal Berkeley. There is a double twist ending.