A doctor, who is travelling to see his estranged son, sparks with an unhappily married woman at a North Carolina inn.

Adrienne Willis, a woman with her life in chaos, retreats to the tiny coastal town of Rodanthe, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. Here she hopes to find the tranquility she so desperately needs to rethink the conflicts surrounding her -- a wayward husband who has asked to come home, and a teen-aged daughter who resents her every decision. Almost as soon as Adrienne gets to Rodanthe, a major storm is forecast and a guest named Dr. Paul Flanner arrive. The only guest at the inn, Flanner is not on a weekend escape but rather is there to face his own crisis of conscience. Now, with the storm closing in, the two turn to each other for comfort and, in one magical weekend, set in motion a life-changing romance that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives...—Drew ToLoweJarrBar

A woman who is estranged from her husband and has a rough relationship with her daughter, offers to take care of her friend's inn at Rodanthe. A doctor who is staying at the inn arrives to take care of something. While there, the two grow close and lean on each other for comfort.—[email protected]

Adrienne Willis and Paul Flanner are both emotionally broken people. Adrienne is separated from her husband, Jack Willis, because of his infidelity. Their children, Amanda and Danny Willis, who live primarily with Adrienne, want their parents to get back together. Amanda, not knowing the true causes, blames the situation on her mother. Jack wants to reconcile with Adrienne, but she's not sure that she either can trust him or loves him anymore, and she doesn't want to reconcile solely for her children's sakes. Jack tries to manipulate the situation which further places a wedge between Adrienne and Amanda. Paul Flanner is a well respected surgeon who deals with his patients primarily on a clinical rather than humanistic level. One of his patients, Jill Torrelson, dies on the operating room table in what was a routine and primarily cosmetic procedure. Paul never did face Jill's husband, Robert Torrelson, directly about the matter, Robert who has filed a wrongful death suit against Paul, despite the death seemingly not being caused by anything that Paul did. Paul's approach to doctoring goes against that of his grown son, Mark Flanner, a doctor himself who is working in a remote facility in the mountains of Ecuador. Adrienne and Paul meet when Paul travels to Rodanthe, off the coast of North Carolina, and is the only current guest at the inn which Adrienne is managing temporarily for her best friend Jean, who is taking some personal time away. Paul's trip to Rodanthe was on the request of Robert to meet, Rodanthe where the Torrelsons live. Adrienne and Paul end up fulfilling much that is missing in the other's life. Regardless of if there is a long term future for Adrienne and Paul together, their encounter at least re-energizes their lives and helps them deal with the current issues which they are facing.—Huggo

Before moving, surgeon Paul Flanner books a short off-season holiday in a boarding house on the coast at Rodanthe, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's temporarily run by Adrienne Willis, who hesitates whether to reconcile with husband Jack as their children want, especially daughter Adrienne. Paul and Adrienne soon bond over dinner, music and a bad storm. Paul came to face locals Robert and Charlie Torrelson, the husband and son who sue him for the most surprisingly fatal surgery that coast their savings and killed his patient, which goes badly the first try, a bit better when Adrienne comes along. He confides in her he's leaving for Ecuador to attempt reconciling with his son, idealistic doctor Mark Flanner, they start make love and stay in correspondence. instead of Paul, Mark comes to Rodanthe.—KGF Vissers