Ava Gregory (Lori Loughlin, Full House) was exactly where she wanted
to be in life. In her thirties, with a close-knit circle of friends, a
great house in a beautiful California beach town and a growing career as
a fashion designer, the last thing on her mind was settling down and
starting a family. That all changed the day Ava's sister and
brother-in-law were killed in an accident, leaving Ava to raise their
three children.
Until the accident, the biggest challenge in Ava's life was her career
and the decision to quit her glamorous job at a large design house to
start her own boutique designer label. Ava was comfortable with her
role as the cool aunt who would occasionally drop in on her niece and
nephews at their isolated Kansas farm or invite them to visit her in
California, where they were dazzled by her exciting life.
Despite the tragedy they've endured and the sudden transition from rural
Kansas to the beaches of Southern California, the kids are doing pretty
well. Sixteen-year-old Bradin (Jesse McCartney, All My Children) has
his own adolescent angst to deal with, but he does his best to help his
younger siblings. Twelve-year-old Nikki (Kay Panabaker, The Brothers
Garcia) has always adored her aunt but sometimes resents Ava's attempts
to fill her late sister's shoes. Eight-year-old Derrick (Nick Benson,
the upcoming feature film National Treasure) has enough on his hands
just trying to understand the big issues of life, death and family.
It's a sense of family that Ava is determined to provide for her
sister's children. Since college, Ava's main support system has been
her three devoted friends - Johnny, Jay and Susannah. Now her friends
are ready and willing to reach out and become the ultimate surrogate
family, and Ava is about to discover that it really does take a village
(or in this case, a hip beach community) to raise a child.
Johnny Durant (Shawn Christian, As the World Turns, Shopgirl) is
Ava's former boyfriend and they have remained very close. He's an
ambitious real estate wheeler-dealer who has the nagging feeling he
hasn't yet found his true purpose in life. At the moment, however, he's
content to be there for Ava and her instant family, acting as the father
figure the kids desperately need.
