Freelance writer Mattie Meadows has found an excellent excuse to visit Barbourville, Tennessee. She's been assigned to write an article about a local cottage for a travel magazine. But her real reason for visiting the town is much less transparent, and if she succeeds in her quest, some prominent citizens may very well become her enemies. Attorney Denver Vance is using Barbourville as a stopover on his way home to Chicago from a Florida vacation. When he meets a prickly female in his brother's cottage, he reluctantly agrees to help her in her quest, never dreaming that their chance encounter could lead to their falling in love. But then they uncover secrets that impact their new Barbourville friends, and they realize that in the process, they may have destroyed any chances they might have had to build a future together.