Samantha Lyons, a research scientist, has finally come home to Clam Creek, a sleepy little town on the marsh in New Jersey, but she needs an assistant to complete her mosquito research if she wants to continue living at Field Station Number 37, the first real home she has ever had. When David Halpern drives into town he is out of options. Robbed and on the run, he and his son find sustenance in the basement of Holy Redeemer church and a job offer from Samantha. David assumes he'll be safe from discovery in the backwater town and accepts the position. Then Samantha discovers David has kidnapped his son. She knows she isn't likely to get any other help so she aids David in his deception, never suspecting she might lose her heart.