Emma Dove has been Viscount Harrison Marlowe's secretary for five years. She dreams of being a published writer and her employer is a publisher. Having a failed marriage behind him, Harry has an aversion to matrimony. Emma is used to seeing all of his mistresses come and go. Being a sensible woman Emma realizes Harry is above her class and there is no possibility of him being drawn to a plain woman such as herself.

Emma gives Harry a manuscript to read and he refuses to publish her work. She soon realizes that Harry never even read the manuscript. Feeling betrayed and hurt she resigns as Harry's secretary. She takes a job writing a weekly etiquette news column for a rival paper. Her weekly column is a huge success and the talk of London. Harry is baffled by this. He buys the rival paper where Emma is now employed and once again is her boss. Emma is now beginning to intrigue him in a way she never had before. This sudden attraction to her is inexplicable to Harry and most inconvenient.

Emma doesn't like Harry, or at least that's what she prefers to tell herself. He is a corrupt, worldly man, who has illicit affairs with women of low moral character, women he easily uses than discards. He's not the sort of man any sensible woman would want.

Emma has lived her life in a constant state of being proper at all times and in all situations. Always following all of life's rules. Harry, on the other hand, doesn't believe in rules and lives his life on his own terms. Completely opposite each other in so many ways, can being together bring a balance to both their lives?