spring tide n.
1. The exceptionally high and low tides that occur at the time of the new moon or the full moon when the sun, moon, and earth are approximately aligned.
2. A great flood of emotion.
Jack Sullivan – from high-flying Wall Street wonder, to the curb
Jack Sullivan is at the top of his game: a high-flying Wall Street investment banker celebrating his recent whale of a deal with a lap dance in a Manhattan strip club, on the verge of a managing directorship and marriage to socialite and PR whiz Melissa. A weekend in the Hamptons on the boss’s yacht nails his promotion but the next week he arrives at work, expecting to be moved up to the corner office, and instead finds himself at the center of an insider trade in which he had no part. After turning down hush money, he’s tossed to the curb with his belongings in a cardboard box having to immediately vacate his “perk” of a fabulous Manhattan loft. Stunned by this lifestyle alteration, Melissa thinks it might be time for a breather. Instead of an evening of toasting his success with friends, Jack finds himself buying rounds for strangers in a dive bar. They convince Jack he’s the one who needs a break. Jack wakes up the next morning with a massive hangover, on a plane, far, far away from his stellar life, and where an approaching storm on the eastern seaboard is grounding all aircraft, making a quick return to New York impossible.
Natalie Gregory – talented artist working a day job on the tourist docks
Natalie is flying home to her life as a whale watching tour guide after visiting her sister Maggi, a wedding gown designer and “bride to be” who lives in New York City. Already late for work she rushes to get to the wharves, hailing a cab. Jack, distracted by circumstances and a headache, scoops it from her resulting in his first impression of Natalie through the taxi window as she gives him the finger and shouts “ASS HOLE!”
Real whales and a real woman push Wall Street to the back of Jack’s mind
In limbo, Jack is looking for distraction. While strolling the harbourfront, he meets the Captain who urges him to go whale watching reacquainting him with Natalie. She books him on a tour and while they are on the boat, emergency strikes: the Captain has a heart attack. Jack takes the helm and handles the boat with ease. He is in his element, and steps off Wall Street’s golden escalator and into the Captain’s shoes, taking up residence in a houseboat on Fisherman’s Wharf. Jack’s attraction to Natalie grows and soon he’s all but forgotten Melissa, who he finds out has already moved on to an Argentine polo player. Jack begins dreaming of returning to his grandparents’ home, a ramshackle yellow house overlooking the water. A preservation order is keeping the house from redevelopment, and it is in foreclosure.
Natalie falls for Jack
Natalie is wary of Jack’s attention, and Jack soon learns why. She’s had her heart broken. Her sister ‘s wedding looms and Natalie’s ex Joe will be there. Natalie takes Jack as her buffer, and they embark on a Rocky Mountain road trip to a traditional Ukrainian wedding. During the wedding celebration, Natalie and Jack realize they are in love. Jack tells Natalie that he has to go back to Manhattan the next day, but has not revealed to Natalie that he is working on a financing deal to develop his family property and save the yellow house. Jack reassures Natalie he is coming back. But after Jack has left for NYC, Natalie finds out about Jack’s fast life and engagement to Melissa, and decides she’s been betrayed once again.
Jack commits to Victoria and saves his childhood home
Hurt and angry, Natalie returns home, and while nursing her wounds receives news that she’s won a big grant to pursue her art. She quits her job, packs up and heads for Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Jack returns intending to save his grandparents’ home – but he has no-one to share the news with. Natalie does not return his calls. Jack throws himself day and night into the whale watching business and the house deal.
Natalie becomes New York’s new ‘it girl”
Natalie’s show is a huge success, but in spite of being the toast of the New York art scene, she discovers the shine is off the apple and she longs for her previous life. When a chance encounter reveals that Melissa and Jack are no longer an item, she has a change of heart about Jack, but Jack doesn’t know.
Natalie returns home and Jack is there to greet her
Natalie reads an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times “Why I traded Wall Street whales for whale watching” by Jack Sullivan en route, cementing that Jack is who she hoped he would turn out to be. When Natalie arrives at the Springtide office, she sees one of her paintings hanging on a wall. The story ends one year later with Natalie and Jack celebrating their wedding with family and friends in the lovely gardens of the now renovated yellow house.