Parts of it were filmed in Louisiana and the opening scene with Katie on the Coach America bus is on the Linn Cove Viaduct along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain in Linville, North Carolina. The film began principal photography on Jin Wilmington and Southport, North Carolina. Juan Carlos Piedrahita as Detective RamirezĪccording to a 2012 Twitch Film article, Keira Knightley had entered into "early talks" to play Katie, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the 2013 film Begin Again.This was West's last film role before his death in July 2017 Noah Lomax as Josh Wheatley, Son of Alex who has a rough and strained relationship with his father due to his mother's death.Mimi Kirkland as Lexie Wheatley, Daughter of Alex and who befriended Katie.David Lyons as Detective Kevin Tierney, Katie's abusive husband.Cobie Smulders as Carly / Jo, a local woman who befriends Katie.Josh Duhamel as Alex Wheatley, Katie's new boyfriend and a widower who struggles to raise his two kids after the death of his wife.Julianne Hough as Erin Tierney / Katie Feldman, A young woman who flees her abusive husband and Alex's new girlfriend.Katie realizes that her neighbor "Jo" was the ghost of Carly watching over them. Enclosed with the letter is a photo of Alex's late wife. It explains that Alex must be in love to have given her the letter and she hopes that she feels the same, wishing that she could be there with them. You belong here."Īlex gives Katie a letter with the words "To Her" on the envelope. Katie thanks her for being a good friend and Jo tells her, "You deserve this, Katie. Jo later tells Katie that she will be leaving Southport soon. They were prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Josh's eighteenth birthday and Lexie's wedding day. Meanwhile, as Katie tries to fight off Kevin, the gun goes off and kills him.Īfter the fire, Alex recovers several letters written by his late wife Carly before she died. Alex sees the burning store, quickly crosses the harbor by boat, and saves Lexie. A firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that engulfs the store.
When he lets his guard down, she pushes him into the water. Katie buys time by faking sympathy and agreeing to go back with him.
Kevin pulls a gun and pours gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down. Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a sleeping Lexie when Kevin suddenly appears and confronts her, demanding that she go back with him. That evening, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that "he" is here. Arriving in time for the town's Fourth of July parade, a severely intoxicated Kevin sees Katie kissing Alex, which enrages him. Enraged, he breaks into Katie's former neighbor's home in Boston and gets the phone number to the restaurant where Katie works. A flashback reveals that on the night Katie ran away, she stabbed Kevin with a knife when he attacked her in a drunken rage. He turns out to be Katie's (Erin's) husband, still alive and well. Meanwhile, Kevin is suspended for creating the false wanted posters - for crimes that were not committed - and for drinking on the job. They got in a big fight and she stabbed him in self-defense before fleeing in a panic. She tells him that she fled there to escape her abusive and alcoholic cop husband. Katie reluctantly returns his love, and decides to stay in Southport (though still apprehensive of bringing danger upon his family). He confronts her, causing a huge fight which ends in their breakup and her moving out.Īs Katie is about to leave town, Alex intercepts her, saying he has fallen in love with her, begging her not to leave and promising to keep her safe. Alex sees the poster in the police station and notices the picture bears a striking resemblance to Katie. Meanwhile, Kevin Tierney, a Boston police detective, prepares wanted posters for "Erin", a woman accused of first-degree murder. It is not long before Katie starts a relationship with Alex, and becomes a mother figure to Josh and Lexie. He is a widowed father of two young children, Josh, who has a strained relationship with him, and Lexie. She befriends her neighbor, Jo, and meets Alex Wheatley who operates the local general store. She introduces herself as Katie at the general store, gets a job as a waitress, and rents a small house on the edge of town. Finally, Erin arrives at Southport, North Carolina. Cops appear and start looking for her, but she gets on a bus and escapes them. She arrives at a bus station, now with cut and bleached hair. The film begins with a terrified woman, Erin, barefoot and covered in blood, running to an elderly neighbor’s house for shelter.