Elena has just won a place in nursing school when her family's money troubles take it away. A lottery decides her future instead: a contract marriage to Cole, a fishing captain with a reputation for being cold. She arrives at the Morgan home braced for misery and finds a kind mother-in-law and a husband who feels far more than he shows.
From her first day by the water, luck follows Elena. Rare treasures turn up at low tide and the boats come back full. The shell pendant she has worn since birth hints at a mermaid bloodline waking up inside her. Cole works the sea to send her back to school, while her jealous sisters do everything they can to drag her down.
