Eve is miserable. Little more than a servant to her father, looked down upon by fellow villagers, and promised to a man she despises, nothing about her life is of her choosing. Her days are spent with chores and the dirty garments she's hired to wash in the creek. One day, Eve spies something in the water and comes face-to-face with a merman named Oorin. Eve learns that he is in his Songcoming, a rite of passage in which merfolk live alone until they can find their song. Oorin is just as curious about Eve and her life on land. As they meet each morning at sunrise, they learn about each other and forge an unlikely bond. But Eve's father learns of the relationship and forbids her to return to the creek, locking her away. With her betrothed on his way to claim her, Eve must choose between a life under water where she can't breathe--and a life on land that will surely suffocate her.