The Last Sunrise Summary: A Bittersweet Mallorcan Romance
TL;DR: The Last Sunrise Quick Summary
In The Last Sunrise by Anna Todd, twenty-three-year-old Oriah Pera travels to Mallorca, Spain, with her corporate executive mother.
Oriah hides a life-threatening genetic condition and wants one final summer on her own terms.
Her plans shift when she meets Julián Garcia, a local fisherman whose family business is targeted by her mother’s resort development.
The novel follows their collision of worlds, the secrets between mother and daughter, and the medical realities Oriah cannot outrun.
- Genre: Contemporary new adult romance with medical drama.
- Setting: Mallorca, Spain, contrasting luxury resorts with local fishing culture.
- Central Romance: Oriah, an American hiding a terminal illness, and Julián, a Mallorcan fisherman fighting corporate development.
- Core Conflict: Oriah’s secret health crisis, her mother’s corporate role, and the threatened Garcia shipyard.
- Themes: Mortality, forgiveness, cultural heritage, parental sacrifice, and second chances.
The Last Sunrise Summary: Spoilers Ahead
SPOILERS: This section covers the full plot, including the ending.
Twenty-three-year-old Oriah “Ry” Pera arrives in Mallorca on a private jet with her mother, Isolde Pera, a senior executive at SetCorp.
Oriah has Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a genetic condition causing brain and kidney tubers, epilepsy, and a past kidney transplant.
Traumatized by her childhood friend Audra’s memory loss after brain surgery, Oriah has secretly stopped taking her anti-seizure medication. She views the trip as her final summer of freedom.
On her first day away from her mother’s schedule, Oriah floats in the Mediterranean and then meets Julián Garcia, a local fisherman. He guides her back to her hotel after she gets lost in Palma’s streets.
Oriah befriends Amara, a hotel receptionist, who introduces her to local nightlife and friends including Prisha, a medical student. Julián and Oriah keep crossing paths across Palma.
Julián takes Oriah out on his wooden fishing boat to hidden coves and quiet places away from tourism. Despite his disdain for wealthy tourists, he is drawn to her authenticity, and they agree to a no-strings-attached summer fling.
Their romance shatters when Julián sees Isolde at Oriah’s hotel pool. He reveals that Isolde is the SetCorp agent trying to buy and demolish the Garcia family shipyard for a luxury resort.
Julián also accuses Isolde of having broken his father Mateo’s heart decades ago. He rejects Oriah, saying she lives off the corporate wealth destroying his community.
Heartbroken, Oriah confronts her mother. Isolde admits she grew up in extreme poverty in Mallorca and that her own mother died young from undiagnosed TSC.
Isolde fled to America thirty years ago to escape poverty and fund Oriah’s medical care through SetCorp. She confirms she loved Mateo Garcia as a teenager, but he refused to leave his family’s fishery.
Oriah seeks out Mateo at the docks. He holds no hatred toward her and explains that Isolde’s ambition was forged by childhood trauma and poverty.
Oriah joins a local street protest outside the Garcia shipyard with Amara, Prisha, and fishing families. When she tries to speak to Julián, he rebuffs her and dismisses their bond as a summer fling.
The emotional distress triggers a severe epileptic seizure on the beach. Oriah collapses and is rushed to the local hospital.
When Oriah wakes, Isolde insists on flying her back to Dallas. Oriah discharges herself against medical advice to attend SetCorp’s charity gala at the hotel.
Julián arrives at the gala in a silk shirt, remorseful for his words at the protest. They reconcile in a private room and declare their love.
During the gala dinner, Mateo Garcia enters the ballroom in a suit and confronts Isolde publicly. He condemns her for destroying her homeland’s environment and community before walking out.
Distraught, Isolde retreats to the terrace, and Oriah follows. Mother and daughter argue about Isolde’s choices, Oriah’s medical bills, and Oriah’s secret decision to stop her medication.
Oriah refuses to leave the island. As Isolde panics and threatens to file police reports against Julián, Oriah suffers a second catastrophic seizure and falls into the hotel swimming pool.
Julián dives in and pulls Oriah’s limp body from the water. In her suite, Oriah finally reveals her full medical history to him, including her TSC, kidney transplant, brain tubers, and fear of losing her mind like Audra.
Julián embraces her fully and promises to stand by her side. Over the following weeks, they live in a blissful bubble on his boat, exploring historic homes and making matching beach-pebble necklaces.
During a quiet morning sleeping on the beach, Oriah suffers an overwhelming, prolonged seizure. She loses consciousness as her body spasms.
Julián wakes to find her unresponsive with a failing heartbeat. At the hospital, the medical team tells Isolde, Mateo, and Julián that Oriah’s brain tubers have shifted and caused life-threatening pressure.
Without immediate emergency brain surgery, Oriah will die within hours. Isolde hesitates hysterically, knowing Oriah’s terror of waking without memories.
Julián falls to his knees and begs Isolde to give Oriah a chance at life. He swears he will care for her even if she forgets him, and Isolde relents.
A world-class neurosurgeon flown in from Madrid performs the emergency procedure. Oriah remains in a coma for days while Isolde, Mateo, and Julián keep a constant vigil.
Oriah opens her eyes as the morning sun rises through the hospital window. She retains her full memory, squeezes Julián’s hand, and whispers her promise to keep watching the sunrise with him.
Epilogue: One year later, Oriah lives permanently in Mallorca, healthy, taking daily medication alongside Julián, and integrated into the island’s community. Isolde restructured the SetCorp acquisition to preserve local land, and she and Mateo have re-established a warm relationship.
Surrounded by Julián, Amara, Prisha, and their local family, Oriah celebrates Julián’s birthday on the shore.
Anna Todd’s novel ends with Oriah embracing a long, vibrant life born from her summer of second chances.
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Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Oriah “Ry” Pera | A 23-year-old American from Dallas living with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, severe epilepsy, and a past kidney transplant. |
| Julián Garcia | A local Mallorcan fisherman and second-in-command of his family’s traditional fishery. |
| Isolde Pera | Oriah’s mother and a ruthless senior executive at SetCorp who grew up in Mallorca. |
| Mateo Garcia | Julián’s father, owner of the Garcia shipyard, and Isolde’s childhood sweetheart. |
| Amara | A free-spirited employee at the SetCorp hotel who becomes Oriah’s first genuine friend on the island. |
| Prisha | A medical student from India studying in Sweden who visits Mallorca and enters a relationship with Amara. |
| Lena | Isolde’s loyal corporate executive assistant at SetCorp who manages logistics. |
| Audra | Oriah’s deceased childhood best friend who also had TSC and lost her memory after brain surgery. |
| Dr. Steele | Oriah’s lifelong pediatric neurologist from Texas who consults on her emergency care. |
Beneath the Mallorcan Sun: The Novel’s Deeper Ideas
| Theme | How the Book Presents It |
|---|---|
| Forgiveness and Releasing Unrealistic Expectations | Oriah forgives her mother’s emotional distance, and Isolde confronts her past mistakes. The narrative arcs focus on mother-daughter reconciliation. |
| Living in the Present vs. Fear of Mortality | Oriah moves from passive acceptance of death to actively embracing each sunrise, moment, and relationship despite her fear. |
| Corporate Greed vs. Cultural Heritage and Local Community | SetCorp’s resort development clashes with working-class Mallorcan fishermen fighting to preserve their land and heritage. |
| Parental Sacrifice and Generational Trauma | Isolde pursues financial security to fund Oriah’s medical survival, while Mateo sacrifices to raise Julián within his native culture. |
| Second Chances and Rebirth | Oriah recovers from brain surgery, her relationship with her mother heals, and Isolde and Mateo rekindle their emotional bond. |
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Who Is The Last Sunrise For?
This book may appeal to readers who enjoy contemporary new adult romance with medical drama and a strong sense of place.
The story centers on a secret illness, a summer fling, and a conflict between corporate ambition and local heritage.
Readers who prefer emotionally intense, sun-soaked settings and enemies-to-lovers dynamics may find the novel matches their interests.
The narrative also includes family secrets, parental sacrifice, and a life-or-death medical crisis.
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Book Snapshot: The Last Sunrise
- Genre & Subgenre: Contemporary New Adult Romance; Sick Lit / Medical Drama / Summer Romance
- Core Narrative Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Summer Fling / Forced Proximity, Opposite Worlds / Star-Crossed Lovers, Terminal Illness / Secret Medical Condition, Second-Chance Romance (Parental Arc)
- Tone & Atmosphere: Sensory, bittersweet, emotionally intense, romantic, and sun-soaked
- Primary Conflict: Internal: Oriah’s surrender to her terminal diagnosis vs. her desire to risk brain surgery for a future with Julián. External: SetCorp’s commercial buyout of the Garcia shipyard.
- Pacing Style: Episodic summer chronicle that escalates from light romantic banter into high-stakes family drama, medical emergencies, and a tense surgical resolution.
- ISBN-10: 1668079534
- ISBN-13: 978-1668079539
- Pages: 384
- Book Structure: 40 structured sections comprising a Prologue, 38 numbered chapters, and an Epilogue set one year later.
- Author Background: Anna Todd is the bestselling author of the After series, known for emotionally intense romance and character-driven conflicts.
Quotes from The Last Sunrise
“The ocean doesn’t care about sickness or health, life or death, love or hate. It’s balanced, ever changing, never longing for more or less than it has, never lingering or stagnant.”
“What’s the point of anything in life? If you only think of the ending, you’re unable to take in the present, the point of living.”
“If you can love someone through their darkness, their loss of faith, you can love them through anything.”
“I’d rather live in chaos and uncertainty. Hearing my own laughter, tasting my own tears, falling in love and back out again, heartache, being loved, all the ups and downs. I can’t waste my life wondering what would have happened if I didn’t live that way.”
“To be loved is to be seen, and to be seen is to be loved.”
“You make me want to be in the light, Ry. No more hiding here in the darkness. I’m going to fight like hell to stay in the light of life with you.”
“I’m not leaving this country until I die, which lucky for you will be sooner than later… Julián has been the best thing to happen to me, and I love him, and you will not keep me away from—”
Books Like The Last Sunrise
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott: A young adult medical romance about two chronic illness patients navigating love, boundaries, and physical limitations.
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch: A sun-soaked European coming-of-age story with hidden family secrets and romance in a coastal Mediterranean setting.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: A bittersweet romance centered on a sharp, humor-filled protagonist facing terminal medical realities while experiencing first love.
After by Anna Todd: The bestselling flagship series by the same author, sharing emotional intensity, passionate conflicts, and deep character vulnerability.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: A romance involving a person with a severe medical condition and a caregiver, exploring love, mortality, and difficult choices.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks: A summer romance marked by class differences, family expectations, and a long-term medical illness.
