Dune And Debt

Coastal scientist Petra Vance illegally camps on an isolated Georgian barrier island every summer to study the fragile sea oat dunes planted by her grandmother before the land was bought by a wealthy family. She believes she leaves no trace, but brooding and heavily scarred estate owner Ewan Blackthorne has monitored her trespassing for three years through infrared trail cameras. Unable to stop watching her, Ewan finally confronts Petra and issues a brutal ultimatum involving jail time or working off her debt through twelve weeks of grueling manual labor. Petra accepts the coerced arrangement and moves into a rusted fishing cabin. They spend their days doing heavy dock maintenance in the sweltering heat, separated by strict unspoken boundaries. However, when a massive tropical storm forces them into lockdown inside Ewan's main house, the fragile distance between them finally collapses.