Every summer, Martha leaves her home in Wisconsin to visit her grandmother, Godbee, on the Atlantic Ocean. One year, she receives a journal page from a woman whose daughter Olive, a classmate of Martha’s, has died in a hit-and-run accident. Martha did not know Olive very well, though Olive admired Martha from afar despite never speaking to or hanging out with Martha. After reading Olive's journal page, Martha regrets how she had not been nice to Olive and discovers they had a lot in common, particularly a love of the ocean and a wish to become a writer.