A young woman (Julianne Hough) flees her house after being shown in possession of a bloody knife. She is shown moments later buying a bus ticket, her hair now cropped and bleached, and stops at a small North Carolina town called Southport. At the general store, she introduces herself as Katie. After acquiring a job as a waitress and buying a small house on the edge of town, Katie becomes friends with her neighbor, Jo (Cobie Smulders) and meets handsome Alex Wheatley, (Josh Duhamel), the manager of a local convenience store, and his two children, Lexie and Josh. Alex's wife tragically died of cancer a few years prior.
Alex immediately takes a liking to Katie, doing small helpful things, such as leaving an old bike at her house. They go on a 'family' trip to the beach, and Alex asks her to go canoeing with him, after which, they fall in love. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mother's replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin Tierney, a Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, sends out reports saying that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and becomes angry that she didn't trust him enough to even tell him her real name, Erin. The picture flashes to Kevin's boss confronting him at work, pointing out he always carries a water bottle that turns out to be filled with vodka, and reveals that Erin was Kevin's wife.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbITuRcIyyTFt0GjxRayiAE6k0EMr6UG7qmuRlOTfoObTplPW-JaOFK7Pp-vcW9U_KUnIUXpn1nKtoEtkMo-TM7-eMdqGmy0CIqXRpvuJ0WxGmDX8msb_6gqA1nhguAaIfh3Waq_o86F_/s156/i+(1).jpg)
Alex immediately takes a liking to Katie, doing small helpful things, such as leaving an old bike at her house. They go on a 'family' trip to the beach, and Alex asks her to go canoeing with him, after which, they fall in love. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mother's replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin Tierney, a Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, sends out reports saying that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and becomes angry that she didn't trust him enough to even tell him her real name, Erin. The picture flashes to Kevin's boss confronting him at work, pointing out he always carries a water bottle that turns out to be filled with vodka, and reveals that Erin was Kevin's wife.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbITuRcIyyTFt0GjxRayiAE6k0EMr6UG7qmuRlOTfoObTplPW-JaOFK7Pp-vcW9U_KUnIUXpn1nKtoEtkMo-TM7-eMdqGmy0CIqXRpvuJ0WxGmDX8msb_6gqA1nhguAaIfh3Waq_o86F_/s156/i+(1).jpg)