Keggers at the ocean guards' ramshackle house, fun in the sun at Whiskey Beach, and a raucous good time at the Bottle and Cork all contribute to Terri Landers's summer of fun. The year is 1977, and Terri and her best friend, Veronica, are lifeguards at a community pool in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Life's a blast until the weekend of the Fourth when heartbreak and treachery change not only the course of Terri's summer but also the direction of her life's journey.

Along the way we meet a cast of characters from Black Bart and the Rally Crew, an ensemble of beer-bellied party animals, to Joe Bock, a high-voltage DJ who emcees a hilarious wet T-shirt contest, and, of course, the nostalgic youthful glow of summer at the shore back in the day.