Ever since her father died, the heroine has been bombarded by her tyrant of a step aunt into becoming someone she is not. The snobbish woman wants the heroine to act like her class but all she wants to do is sail on the ocean she once shared with her beloved father. An heiress to a tidy fortune but unable to access the funds until her thirtieth birthday, the heroine is completely under her controlling aunts power. So, she decides to run away. She flees to a hidden secret cottage she found one day and vows to fix the place up and restore it to it's original glory. Life is perfect. And then she realizes that place is haunted. The ghost in fact rescues her from drowning in a particularly bad storm but that doesn't mean he wants her anywhere near his home. He tries to scare her away but the heroine is less than frightened by his lack luster threats than she is of losing control of her life again. And despite the captains bluster, he too is drawn to the mortal woman who has crashed his reprieve from the sea. They strike a bargain to co-exist in peace and soon they develop a deep friendship, bonding over their respective love for the ocean and sailing. For a time, life is good. The hero knows a taste of peace after 140 years of being invisible to the humans around him as well as knowing a females touch. It is the sea that rules him and its in the ocean where he can become corporal and feel like a whole man again. But then their happiness is shattered. Another ghost, the man responsible for murdering the hero returns to destroys their little world, showing the hero that he can't protect the woman he loves as a man should be able to. And when they find themselves once again in the eye of a nasty storm, the heroine is thrown overboard and almost dies. The her is able to save her but in the process, she is returned to her family whom convince her that her experience with the ghostly captain was all in her head. 10 Years later and after plenty of counselling and medicine, they have succeeded in breaking her spirit. She is no longer the fiery woman she once was but still dreams of the captain plague her. Then she sees the man's portrait and everything comes rushing back. She breaks from her controlling family, stops taking the pills that turn her into a robot and returns to the little cottage in the secret cove. There she is stunned to one again be face to face with the ghost she fell in love with all those years ago and though he returns her love 10 fold the obstacles in front of them still remain and however can a mortal woman and a ghost ever be together? This book wasn't one of my favorites. There were things that I just didn't like about it. First off, I found the plot to be haphazardly tossed together with a peek-a-boo villains and sometimes dull storyline. Secondly, I found the heroine to be whiny, clingy and nothing at all like the feisty woman she's portrayed to be in the beginning. Instead of standing up to her problems, she runs away. And later, even after she realizes her captain is real and she's not crazy, she still always her controlling family to pressure her into their way of life. She felt like a really immature girl and even the hero himself noted how naïve and young she truly was. Now besides for the pointers I've made above, I must point out the fact that there were aspects I did enjoy. I liked the hero when he demanded the heroine to tell her family to shove off. I laughed a bit at that. I also liked the fact that the hero was not the over the top tormented spirt. He had humor and a easy going nature despite his predicament. I guess it's a bit easier to be a ghost when taking a girl out on the water he can actually touch her like a mortal man. Even though only the heroine can see and hear him-but she was practically throwing herself at him at any chance anyway so he didn't have to work that hard. Over all it was an okay book but not one I'm likely to read again any time soon. ( )