Summary:
Ava (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, Phil Of The Future) 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 Susanna. 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 (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. A completely different kind of male role model, Ava's friend Jay (Ryan Kwanten, Home and Away) is an Australian surfer with an undeniable Peter Pan syndrome. Jay owns the local surf shop, but he's no businessman. In fact, he's only looking...
