In high school, Olivia, Tracy and Holly had been known as The Godmothers, and their friendship has endured throughout the ensuing decades. Now, with the death of Olivia's husband, a wealthy Italian Count, and her return to America, the friends decide to reunite on a luxury cruise in the Caribbean. Along with Tracy's college-aged daughter and a two-man crew, they begin their journey uneventfully, enjoying the sun and the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean. Then, a series of devastating events unfolds, leaving the women crewless, starving and terrified. Almost overnight, what was meant to be a blissful vacation devolves into a desperate fight for survival, as they soon find themselves battling the elements, a horrifying attack by drug traffickers, and their own frailties. It is at once a story about the bonds of friendship, the love between mothers and their children, and the strengths we don't know we possess until we are faced with our own mortality.

Twenty years ago they were high school royalty, the girls everyone envied. But life for Tracy and Holly has subsided into suburban contentment, husbands, homes and families. So when Olivia, the group's glamorous leader, returns to America as a rich widow, they decide to celebrate their reunion onboard a luxurious sailing boat in the Caribbean. Accompanied by Tracy's unruly teenage daughter and an attentive and experienced crew, the three friends set sail for the holiday of a lifetime. But what really awaits them in the sun-drenched Caribbean is more mysterious and terrifying than anything they could have imagine. As their dream trip turns into a desperate fight for survival, the women soon find themselves faced with dwindling supplies, modern-day piracy and, above all, the deep, lonely ocean. To survive, they must rely on the bonds that have held them close all these years, friend to friend, mother to daughter — even as old secrets, old alliances and new treacheries push them beyond endurance! In her breathtaking new novel of suspense, Jacquelyn Mitchard explores the limits of friendship and the truths that bind us to each other forever.