Molly Graham doesn't believe in love at first sight or fairy tales. She's been burned too many times before. But when she stumbles across a very handsome British professor, Albert George, seeking refuge in her office during the Museum of Literature's Valentine's Day gala for the opening of their Austen exhibit, she can't help but be drawn to the fellow introverted academic. Together, they ghost out of the event and embark upon a month-long love affair. Just as she’s rethinking her stance on happily ever afters, he disappears. Afraid something bad has happened, she searches for him only to discover there is no Albert George affiliated with the university. She's been played for a fool.

But when she travels to England to return the Jane Austen exhibition materials on loan from the Whitmore Estate, Molly is introduced to Earl Whitmore and his grandson Lord Insley—or, as she knows him, Albert George. She is shocked and dismayed to discover she’s fallen in love with a viscount in line to be an earl. Although he had to leave her unexpectedly, he hasn't been able to forget her, and he wants to win her back. But she refuses to be taken in twice. He’ll have to channel his inner Fitzwilliam Darcy to prove to her that love conquers all.