Audrey Discoll is the loyal granddughter who has cared for her sister and grandfather since a very young age. Orphaned at 13, she feels the same desires her father did, to explore the world. However, she feels she has a responsibility to her family. Suddenly she decides to leave, just for a summer. In the South of France she meets James and Violet, who later introduce her to a man she realizes is her soul mate. Charles Parker-Scott takes her halfway around the world convincing her that she must follow her own heart. However, in China, she must decide to stay and give aid to an abandoned orphanage or leave and go with Charles. He leaves, she stays. She knows when she does get home she can meet up with him again, but she doesn't realize that many things will inevitably change while she's away.