When Merritt Sanders steps across the threshold of the Graydon home for a Labor Day celebration, she encounters people who reshape her life as dramatically as she does theirs. Meeting and loving Sumner Graydon was as unexpected for Merritt as she was to his formidable mother, Mary-Carlton. As Merritt begins her relationship with the Graydon family, she discovers his mother's close-knit friends, each of whom exhibits unique wit and grit. Eventually Merritt secures her place within their sorority of steadfast commitment, unwavering devotion, and boundless affection by exhibiting her steely determination and unique talents.
Set in Savannah, the events that unspool over fifteen years are wide-ranging, tumultuous, and beautiful, just like the river that runs lazily before the lane where the Graydons raised their four sons for decades. A place where people pass down their homes from generation to generation because they love the way the sun settles on the land and trees nod back to a passing breeze in gratitude for a bit of cool. Where they can putter around a salty bend and be home with a spotted sea trout for dinner.
If you believe laughter can light darkness, compassion can change a life, and friends chosen as family are truly authentic...you'll find a friend in Mrs. Graydon.