Margaret still seemed far away. 'I don't know,' she said. 'If the sea pulls you close to it on moonlit nights... if you can hear songs in the waves and the wind...'

'I can!' cried Emily. 'I do!'

Emily is drawn to this beach, with its sudden roaring tides and sharp rocky headland. She can escape there and forget that her mother has left her with a father she has never known. It is on the beach that Emily meets Margaret and believes she has found a friend. But who is Margaret? Is she really a mermaid, or simply a madwoman to be ignored as the locals say? What does Margaret's story hold for Emily? to discover herself Emily will have to make a choice and find out that courage has different meanings...​