US Air Force Colonel Benjamin "Benny" Alexander has been raising his daughter, Whitney Ivy, alone while continuing to search for the woman they both love. US Navy Lieutenant Stacy Greene has been deployed and the fact that no one in the Pentagon will reveal her mission or duty station makes Benny more determined to find her. His search will lead him from Tokyo, Japan, to the Blue Ridge Mountains around Asheville, North Carolina. He's on a mission of his own: to find the mother of their child and the woman he loves more than his next breath.

Vivian Alexander, Benny's younger sister, and her law school cohorts and housemates are on a parallel mission without realizing they are putting their lives at risk. Vivian has other issues to resolve that, for her, may also be life altering. She is uncharacteristically caught in a prism of emotions, commitments, and obligations. Only her family's support can see her through her crises of conscious.

The Alexander family of Summer County, South Carolina, is richly steeped in their ancestral traditions and embrace life, living it to the fullest. The strength and selflessness of the family links them together as tightly as the gold chain that each family member wears. Their relationships with others in their extended family promise that what threatens one will be faced by all. The bond that binds them is strong, but the challenges they face may be stronger.