"It takes place in Hawaii and is about four surfer girls trying to go pro," sets up Kelli McCarty (Beth, PASSIONS), whose new series, BEYOND THE BREAK, premieres June 2 on The N.

"Justin, played by David Chokachi, is their coach and I play his wife, Ronnie. He's a washed-up pro surfer. [My character] went back to college, got her masters and became a lawyer." Unfortunately, Justin's new gig may be too little, too late for this marriage. "He's getting his life together and wants to be with her, but she's not into him," previews McCarty, who appears in 10 of the season's 20 episodes. "It's about the struggles in our relationship."

While the couple works on their issues, Ronnie also gets involved with the girls, one of whom is played by daytime alum Arloa Reston (ex-Joelle, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Sarah, ANOTHER WORLD). "Ronnie becomes a sort of mentor, because she's never had a mother figure," previews McCarty. "Her mother is psychotic." That sounds more like what McCarty is used to playing! "Ronnie is so different from Beth. She's not manipulative; she's nice and normal," the actress says, adding with a laugh, "Being extremely sane is sort of weird."

Not that McCarty is not getting her fill of wacky now that she's back in the PASSIONS fold. "It's a blast on a daily basis," she raves of the "Vendetta" storyline. "I'm excited every week to see what else they're going to have me doing. I like to get in there to find the little things. It's those little things that make her weird and loony."

The drama in Italia is certainly no day at the beach, but neither was BEYOND THE BREAK — which was actually four months on beaches in Hawaii with hubby/exec producer Matt Dearborn. "It was a half-hour show, so I'd shoot a couple of pages a day and then go to the beach," she recalls. "I can't complain. I'll go back to that job anytime!"

BEYOND THE BREAK airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on The N, a cable network devoted to teens.