A divorced single mother finds a bottle on the shore whilst out jogging. Much taken with the sentiments of the message inside she uses the resources of the Chicago paper she works for to track down the sender. When she meets him an affection quickly forms between them, and his cantankerous father is also taken with her. But it is obvious something in the past is casting a terrible shadow.

The producers originally planned to film on Tangier Island, Virginia, USA, but some members of the town council objected to the drinking, cursing and sex in the movie and demanded script revisions in exchange for shooting permission. Warner Brothers then tried Martha's Vineyard near Chilmark, Massachusetts, USA, but the Chilmark Conservation Commission turned down a request to build a temporary 3,000-square-foot house on stilts in the dunes near Chilmark Pond.

Dodge Blake:
If I was about 150 years younger, you'd be in trouble, young lady.

Revealing mistakes: Toward the end of the film, during a storm, presumably taking place somewhere far out in the ocean, Garret Blake is in the water trying to rescue somebody. At one point, it looks as if he is just standing on the bottom of a pool, with water up to his chest.

Written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff)
Produced by Carmen Rizzo, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff)
Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman