Cara Rutledge may start believing bad things do come in threes. She lost her job; her boy friend knew she was unemployed before she did but failed to tell her making her wonder about their relationship; and her mother, needing to see her, asks Cara to return to South Carolina. Reluctantly, Cara decides to visit her mom Lovie, a card-carrying member of the Turtle Ladies.
In Isle of Palms, South Carolina Cara learns that her mom is dying. Still, the pending mortality fails to ease the acrimonious estrangement between mother and daughter that grew over the years faster than the cancer destroying Lovie's body. Time is running out and if this pair cannot reconcile their differences through their love for one another, both will go to their graves filled with regret.