Fiona Clayburn, a headstrong young noblewoman with a passion for art, has no interest in succumbing to the arranged marriage her father plans for her. Getting married would require her to quit her job at her uncle's art gallery and forsake her independent lifestyle. A fateful meeting with Giles Bancroft, an aloof young man and heir to the earl, presents a way out. Giles, like Fiona, wants nothing more than to stay single, so together, they hatch a scheme to achieve their common goal of avoiding marriage: pretend to be destined lovers!