The only thing Elle Medina has ever been a strong candidate for is a department store credit card . . .

Application for Temporary Employment

Name: Elle Medina

Marital Status: I'm separated from my fiancé, Louis Ferris.

Occupation: He was a highly paid attorney.

Employment History: You mean mine? Technically I haven't exactly worked before. But I'm motivated and I work well with others. Most others. Usually.

Career Goals: I thought I was happy with Louis, but now I'm not sure. Ever since he dumped me for some floozy from Iowa, I've been thinking I should find out what I'm good at and pursue it in a formal job-type way.

Salary Requirements: I need my own apartment (currently staying on friend's sofa) and a car. And I've always wanted a dog. Oh, and I definitely need a shopping trip.

Elle Medina must be qualified for something other than shopping and causing trouble, but when she moved to Santa Barbara after the disastrous end of her engagement, just what she's suited for isn't clear. Bartender? Private eye? Phone psychic? It seems like everything she tries ends in humiliation or legal action -- or both. Her best friend is getting sick of her, her new boyfriend's a con artist and her creditors are on her trail. So why is this the happiest Elle's been in years?