To Tessa and all the people of Snapper Bay, the Hammerhead Light is more than just a lighthouse – it is a symbol of all that is enduring and safe. Tessa has grown up within sight and sound of the light and she has formed a strong bond with old Axel, the lighthouse keeper. Both their lives are changed by their fight to save the lighthouse and by their love of a strange migratory bird, the whimbrel – and Tessa begins to learn the meaning of change and the pain of growing up.