In the English village of Middleton, at the time of Jane Austen, the rector's daughter, Sophy Grantchester, 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!