In the English village of Middleton, the rector's daughter Sophy keeps a shameful secret--she's a novelist. Sophy needs inspiration for her next book and it arrives in the form of her rakish cousin, Lord Hart. She writes him into her story, and unwittingly, her heart. He too is surprised to fall for his poor and proper cousin, but she can't be a wife. No man would tolerate her novel writing, especially not one who scorns the idea that a woman could write a book worth reading. However, determined to win her, Lord Hart resorts to devious means. But Sophy could have told him that trickery is no recipe for success in love!