After being widowed and subsequently discovering her husband's infidelities and shaky business practices, Dr. Anne O'Conner Howard is restarting her life by teaching an environmental program at North County Community College and maintaining her company Green Spaces Environmental Engineering, LLC. The last thing Anne expects is for the boy who took her to Junior Prom to walk into her office as a prospective student. Neal Hazard had planned to go to college to become an environmental engineer, but instead he became a single dad at 17 and raised a terrific daughter named Autumn. With Autumn in a nursing program and doing well, electrician Neal has left the National Guard and is going back to school to finish his dream. Discovering that Anne is his student advisor is a shock and takes a little getting used to. Neither Neal nor Anne's lives turned out as planned, but both are charting new directions. Then an unexpected tragedy throws Anne's world into chaos. Neal is a strong shoulder to lean on as Anne once again reevaluates her future. Will these unexpected life changes allow them to discover what their hearts truly want?