A Summer Affair

In March 2003, Claire Danner Crispin, a glassblower living on Nantucket Island, learns from her best friend and sister-in-law, Siobhan Crispin, that Daphne Dixon, a wealthy summer resident, has been in a devastating car accident. Claire had invited Daphne out with a group of women the night before, bought her a final drink, and failed to insist she not drive home drunk. Daphne survives but sustains head injuries that permanently alter her personality, stripping away her charm and social filter and leaving her blunt, cruel, and prone to verbal repetition. Claire carries deep guilt, guilt that intensifies when she brings a gift basket to the Dixon home and perceives accusation in the eyes of Daphne's husband, Lock Dixon, a billionaire who has sold his business to care for Daphne full-time on the island.

Four years later, in the fall of 2007, Lock invites Claire to lunch and asks her to cochair the annual Summer Gala for Nantucket's Children, the island's largest nonprofit, which he runs as executive director. Claire agrees impulsively, driven partly by guilt and a sense of obligation. Her husband, Jason Crispin, a contractor, reacts with displeasure, and Siobhan calls her a fool. Claire's life is already stretched thin: She is a mother of four, including baby Zack, who was born dangerously premature at 32 weeks after Claire collapsed from dehydration in her hot shop, the studio where she practices glassblowing. She shut down the studio afterward and has been haunted by fears that Zack has developmental problems.

At their first private meeting, Lock reveals deep knowledge of Claire's glassblowing career and asks her to create a museum-quality auction piece, promising to bid fifty thousand dollars himself. Claire declines, but she is drawn to Lock's intelligence and warmth. He introduces her cochair, Isabelle French, a divorced woman from New York with a troubled social reputation. Claire also learns she was recruited partly because of her connection to Max West, whose real name is Matthew, a world-famous rock star who was her high school boyfriend in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. Claire contacts Max's agent and secures him as the gala's performer, free of charge.

Over several meetings alone in Lock's office, Claire and Lock grow closer. He tells her about the personal experience that drew him to children's charity work, and Claire reverses her refusal, agreeing to create an auction piece. She begins sketching a pulled-taffy chandelier, the most ambitious project she has ever conceived. Then, one evening, Lock kisses her. He confesses that she has made him realize how lonely he is; his marriage to Daphne has left him emotionally isolated. Claire is swept up despite her terror.

A week later, Lock calls Claire to the office at night, and they have sex for the first time. The affair continues through the fall and winter, with Claire wracked by guilt and fear of discovery. She compares herself to her philandering father, Bud Danner, and recalls her mother's self-destructive response to his infidelity. She goes to confession and tells Father Dominic she is committing adultery. The priest tells her she must stop before he can give her penance. Claire admits she cannot.

Meanwhile, the first full committee meeting reveals sharp tension between Claire and Isabelle. Isabelle challenges Claire's choice of Max West as tawdry and lowbrow, proposing Broadway performers instead. Adams Fiske, the board president, overrules her. Isabelle and Claire clash repeatedly over the gala invitations: Isabelle renames the event, removes the venue location, and lists Claire under her husband's name against her wishes.

Siobhan grows suspicious of Claire's relationship with Lock after seeing Claire's car heading into the forest at Tupancy Links with a man she believes is Lock. Claire denies having been there, and the lie creates a rift between the two women. Siobhan later catches Claire leaving confession on a Saturday afternoon, further deepening her suspicion.

Lock visits Claire's home for the first time, finding her at work in the hot shop. He tells her he is in love with her. She asks him to come upstairs and look at sleeping Zack. Lock gazes at the baby and tells Claire he is beautiful and perfect.

When Lock and Daphne take a vacation to Tortola, Claire spirals emotionally, especially because she learned about the trip from Daphne rather than Lock. At a party at Siobhan's house, Claire drinks heavily and fights with Siobhan over the gala's catering job being given to a rival caterer instead of Island Fare, Siobhan's catering company. Claire then accuses Jason of cheating after seeing him come downstairs with an attractive friend. Jason is furious, and their fight sends him to the guest room. The next morning, Claire calls Matthew, and they have a long, emotional conversation in which he reveals he has resumed drinking and that his wife has left him.

After Lock returns, Claire takes Siobhan to the beach and confesses everything. Siobhan is horrified but tells Claire everything will be okay.

Claire works obsessively on the chandelier, pushing herself to dangerous extremes. She collapses from heatstroke in the hot shop and is hospitalized. Jason padlocks the studio door, then relents. Claire drops the chandelier's final arm and shatters it. Unable to afford the twenty-five-thousand-dollar table that Isabelle has pressured her into buying, Claire borrows the money from Matthew, who sends the check without hesitation. She completes the last arm at two in the morning, achieving it on the first try.

Throughout this period, Gavin Andrews, the office manager at Nantucket's Children, has been secretly skimming cash from the organization's deposits. One night he enters the office and discovers Lock and Claire together. He leaves silently, recognizing the leverage this knowledge gives him.

On the day before the gala, Matthew arrives on Nantucket. After Jason goes to bed, Matthew sits with Claire on the back deck, sings "Stormy Eyes," the song he wrote for her twenty years ago, and asks her to marry him. Claire is deeply moved but declines, recognizing that he is reaching for her out of loneliness, not a genuine shared future.

The gala unfolds amid cascading crises. The original caterer cancels because of a family emergency, and Siobhan, who has just fired her husband Carter from Island Fare over his escalating gambling, agrees to cater alone. Siobhan also issues Claire an ultimatum: end the affair with Lock, or Siobhan will tell Jason. During the event, Lock confronts Gavin about missing funds. Gavin admits to stealing and threatens to expose Lock and Claire's affair. The chandelier is destroyed when Daphne, drunk, stumbles into Siobhan, who knocks the display table. Max West saves the auction by donating a spectacular concert package that sells for two hundred thousand dollars. Gavin flees the gala and is arrested on Old South Road.

Lock takes Claire to the concession stand, where he has packed the chandelier's broken remains in a box. He tells her he loves her. Claire smooths his tie and tells him that the worst thing about adultery was that it shook her belief in love, marriage, and friendship. She asks him to let her go. Lock nods, and Claire walks back toward the tent. Onstage, Matthew closes with a barbershop rendition of "Sweet Rosie O'Grady," the song that first made Claire proud of him in high school. He looks at her hopefully. She shakes her head.

The next morning, Matthew has already left for Spain. Jason has fed the children, cleaned up breakfast, and packed a picnic. He tells Claire she should be proud. Claire takes her coffee to the deck and reflects. She decides to repair the broken chandelier and sell it to a longtime client, embracing its cracks and scars as part of its story. She envisions the repaired piece as marking her triumphant return.