Two determined young women battle inner demons and explosive family secrets in this tale of dreams, daring, and deception. San Francisco-May-1907 Isabelle Hamilton defies her mother and secretly applies to the California Hospital School for Nurses in Los Angeles. Isabelle's gregarious personality and unbridled passion for the Red Cross often put her at odds with the vain and gossipy society ladies who frequent the Cliff House women's parlor. When Isabelle's sister becomes embroiled in a scandal and her mother suffers a heart attack, Isabelle's dreams of independence and an education are imperiled.

Grace Hamilton arrives in San Francisco for the summer on the same train as beef distributor Frank Buchanan, her secret fianc?. Unbeknownst to her family, Grace has been accepted into the California Normal School in Los Angeles, where she will study to become a kindergarten teacher. When Frank's jealousy turns threatening, Grace devises a dangerous and daring plan that promises to make or break her future.

Set against the backdrop of post-quake San Francisco with frequent visits to the timeworn yet atmospheric Cliff House, a towering white "gingerbread palace" perched on the rocks above the Pacific, A Season at the Cliff House weaves together the lives of two very different women intent on achieving similar ambitions on their own terms. It reminds us that the ties that bind are often the ones that test us most and that the price of freedom may be as heart-wrenching as it is rewarding.