The Conditions of Will

The Conditions of Will is a contemporary romance novel by Jessa Hastings. Originally published by Bloom Books in 2025, the novel also falls under the romantic suspense subgenre. In The Conditions of Will, Georgia Carter travels home to Okatie, South Carolina, after her father, Will, passes away. What begins as a trip home for Will’s funeral turns into a messy confrontation with the past. As Georgia tries to make sense of the trauma she experienced in Okatie 10 years prior, she also develops feelings for her brother’s AA sponsor, Sam Penny. Caught between love, loyalty, and family conflict, Georgia is forced to confront who she is and what she wants. Written from Georgia’s first-person point of view, The Conditions of Will explores themes of Confronting Personal Trauma and the Past, The Intersection of Love and Loyalty, and the Complexities of Familial Relationships.

Hastings is an Australian author best known for her Magnolia Parks Series. While the Magnolia Parks titles focus on family drama, The Conditions of Will entangles elements of family life with suspense, mystery, and romance.

This guide is based on the 2025 Bloom Books paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide include cursing, sexual content, depictions of substance use, rape, addiction, sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, child abandonment, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

Twenty-four-year-old Georgia Carter is at home in her London flat when her estranged sister Maryanne calls her repeatedly. Georgia ignores the calls because she hasn’t communicated with anyone in her family in years and has no interest in talking to Maryanne. When Georgia doesn’t pick up, Maryanne texts her to say that their father, Will, died of a heart attack the day before. Although stunned, Georgia doesn’t feel anything. She calls her brother (and childhood best friend) Oliver to tell him the news and offer him a plane ticket from California to South Carolina for the funeral.

Georgia is flooded with memories as soon as she returns to her childhood home in Okatie, South Carolina, and she realizes she hasn’t fully confronted the trauma she experienced there. Her parents sent her away from home when she was 15 because they caught her having sex with Maryanne’s high school boyfriend, Beckett. Deeming her promiscuous and sinful, Will and Margaret shipped her off to boarding school in England, and she hasn’t been home since.

Inside the foyer, Georgia runs into an attractive young man named Sam. She soon discovers that he’s Oliver’s AA sponsor and accompanied Oliver because of his emotional vulnerability over Will’s passing. Like Georgia, Oliver’s relationship with his family is fraught because they disapprove of his sexuality. When Oliver was sent to California as a teenager, Georgia hoped he’d find acceptance away from Okatie. However, he felt unmoored and alone and developed an addiction to alcohol. He’s sober now but admits that he still needs help.

Georgia is thrilled to see Oliver after so much time, but finds it more difficult to reunite with Maryanne, her mother, Margaret, and her brother Tennyson. Tennyson isn’t openly hostile, but he and Georgia have never been friends. Maryanne takes every opportunity to ridicule and insult Georgia, repeatedly accusing her of betraying her by sleeping with Beckett. Georgia doesn’t counter Maryanne’s accusations, even though Maryanne is lying about what happened. Georgia considers telling her family the truth but doesn’t know how. When the topic arises at dinner, she dismisses herself from the table. In her room, she recalls the day that Beckett’s sexual violence began. For an entire year, he snuck into Georgia’s room and forced himself on her. Maryanne knew what was happening the whole time but never confronted Beckett because she thought dating him would help her popularity. Georgia didn’t say anything either because she was only 14 and felt confused and ashamed.

Over the next few days, Georgia gets into repeated confrontations with Maryanne, and, each time, Margaret comes to Maryanne’s defense. Georgia notes that Tennyson doesn’t take her mother and sister’s side. Instead, he tries to connect with Georgia and understand her experience. Sam also invests in Georgia and tries to protect her from her family’s constant verbal attacks.

On the night of her father’s wake, Georgia is so tired of Maryanne’s behavior that she excuses herself to a bar. Tennyson, Sam, and Oliver join. While out, they run into Beckett, who grabs Georgia inappropriately without her consent. She confronts him, but he feigns innocence. Maryanne appears and defends Beckett. Tired of this façade, Georgia tells the whole bar what really happened with Beckett. Sam and Tennyson pounce on him and beat him up. Afterward, both Oliver and Tennyson demand to know why Georgia never told them the truth. Hurt and overwhelmed, Georgia leaves the bar alone. Sam follows and they walk together in silence. Sam tells Georgia he’s sorry for everything she suffered, and they kiss.

Georgia and Sam pursue a secret romantic and sexual relationship as the week progresses. Even though they’ve just met, Georgia is convinced that she’s falling in love with Sam. He’s not only attractive but also emotionally intelligent and seems to care for her. At the same time, the new lovers are terrified that their relationship will hurt Oliver. Oliver is emotionally fragile because of Will’s death, and he has feelings for Sam.

The family goes to the lawyer’s office to hear their father’s will read aloud. When the family hears that Will left a lake house to someone named Alexis Beauchêne, they’re shocked and confused. That evening, Georgia, Sam, Tennyson, and Oliver dig through Will’s office and realize that Alexis must be connected to the money Will sent to a mysterious account in New Orleans. The next morning, they drive to Louisiana to uncover the truth.

In New Orleans, the Carters and Sam discover that Alexis is a man with whom Will had been having an affair since college. The Carters are shocked to learn that Will was gay, given how poorly he treated Oliver. At the same time, Alexis offers them insight into who their father was and how he felt about them.

Oliver discovers that Georgia and Sam are together and throws a fit. He feels betrayed by them both and pushes them away. Worried about Oliver’s well-being, the lovers temporarily consider breaking up. Finally, they decide to be honest with Oliver instead.

After the family settles their concerns in Okatie, Georgia returns to London with Sam. Over the next six months, they start a life together. On Georgia’s birthday, Sam surprises Georgia with a trip to Paris. Tennyson, Oliver, and Alexis join. Georgia professes her love to Sam and thanks him for being such a devoted boyfriend.