Eddie meets Ruby, the woman for whom the pier was named—she shows him his father's story and the violence that shaped Eddie's life. Then he meets Marguerite, his late wife. She teaches him that love does not end with death—it lasts. Forgiveness and love are the way through.
Ruby's husband built the pier and named it after her. Eddie's father was a violent, bitter man who trapped Eddie at the pier. Ruby shows Eddie his father's own wounds—why he became who he was. Understanding does not excuse—but it can loosen the grip of anger. Eddie can forgive.
Marguerite was Eddie's wife; she died young. In heaven she is still with him. She says that lost love is not lost—it returns in moments, in memories, in the way we carry people. Eddie learns that his love for her was never wasted and that she has been with him all along.
Forgiveness frees the one who forgives. Love outlives death when we carry it. Eddie's father and his wife both teach him that the past is not a prison—we can make peace with it.