Each spring in the little port town of Beaufort, North Carolina, when the wind smells of pine and salt and the sea, Landon Carter remembers his senior year at Beaufort High and Jamie Sullivan, the girl who changed his life... Serious and conservative, Jamie is the daughter of the town's Baptist minister and not afraid of letting people know that her faith is the most important part of her life, even if it cost her some friends. After a harmless prank goes terribly wrong, Landon is forced to tutor a young student at a poor school and participate in the Drama Club's spring play - two activities the principal hopes will teach him some humility. They also happen to throw him into close contact with Jamie. Clearly in over his head, Landon is forced to ask her for help. Soon, against his own expectations, Landon finds himself falling in love with this outwardly plain girl who possesses a passion for life he never imagined possible.