A love letter in a bottle pulls a divorced woman toward a man still married to a ghost.
Who drives the story
A divorced Boston columnist and single mother, cynical about love after her husband David's affair. She finds Garrett's bottle, dares to love again, and loses him—then forgives him in a letter of her own.
A Wilmington boat repairman consumed by grief for his dead wife Catherine, whom he mourns through letters sealed in bottles and cast to sea. He finds new love with Theresa but cannot let Catherine go, and dies sending her one last message.
Garrett's late wife, killed in a car accident years before the story begins. She never appears alive, yet her untouched painting studio and her name on every letter make her the third person in every scene.
Garrett's warm, plainspoken father in Wilmington, still grieving Catherine himself. He counsels his son to open his heart, tells him he mishandled the breakup, and delivers the final letter to Theresa.
Theresa's young son, around ten, who lives with his father David during the summers. He likes Garrett during the Boston visit—making the offer in Garrett's final letter, to come be with Kevin too, cut deeper.
Theresa's ex-husband, a successful lawyer who had an affair during their marriage. His betrayal left Theresa doubting love before the story even starts.
Also in the story
Theresa's best friend and boss in Boston, married to Brian, owner of the Cape Cod beach house. She pushes Theresa to take emotional risks and to hunt down the letter's author.
How they are connected
A divorced Boston columnist and single mother, cynical about love after her husband David's affair.
She finds Garrett's bottle, dares to love again, and loses him—then forgives him in a letter of her own.
A Wilmington boat repairman consumed by grief for his dead wife Catherine, whom he mourns through letters sealed in bottles and cast to sea.
Garrett's warm, plainspoken father in Wilmington, still grieving Catherine himself.
Garrett's warm, plainspoken father in Wilmington, still grieving Catherine himself.
He counsels his son to open his heart, tells him he mishandled the breakup, and delivers the final letter to Theresa.
Theresa's best friend and boss in Boston, married to Brian, owner of the Cape Cod beach house.
Theresa's young son, around ten, who lives with his father David during the summers.
Theresa's young son, around ten, who lives with his father David during the summers.
He likes Garrett during the Boston visit—making the offer in Garrett's final letter, to come be with Kevin too, cut deeper.
Go deeper
Loving again after grief · Deception and trust · Chance and fate · Communication across loss
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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