When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away at the age of ninety-one, Tandi Jo Reese, a young mother who has been renting a cottage from Iola, is tasked with cleaning out her large Victorian house. As Tandi, who is escaping a troubling past, sifts through Iola's possessions, she stumbles upon eighty-one intricately decorated prayer boxes. These boxes, one for each year of Iola’s life, contain notes that reveal the personal thoughts, fears, hopes, and observations of Iola’s quiet yet profound life. Through these discoveries, Tandi learns valuable lessons that could profoundly affect her future.