Richard Sommerville, ex-husband of journalist Meredith Hale, claims that his wife has unrealistic ideas about marriage because of Nora Roberts novels, and Meredith believes it. Her dreams of happily ever after—or Nora Roberts Earth, as her mother calls it—disappear. But when her family asks her to return to her hometown of Dare Valley to help edit the newspaper that has always belonged to their family, Meredith decides it's time to turn her life around and prove her ex-husband wrong. . She is determined to find her hero, prove that true love exists, and write an article about it in a New York newspaper. War correspondent Tanner McBride returns to the United States to work for a prestigious newspaper, but the last thing he expects is blackmail from his new superior. Nevertheless, under the pressure of circumstances, he leaves for the town of Dare Valley. His task is to make Sommerville's ex-wife fall in love with him. He is to mercilessly break her heart and in this way prevent her from writing an article about faithful love forever, which would compromise Sommerville's political career. When Tanner and Meredith meet, a spark flies between them. Meredith, who has vowed never to date a journalist again, falls in love with Tanner. As they work together to investigate two suspicious deaths, their relationship deepens and they both realize that they must have no more unspoken secrets from each other. However, before the truth comes out, the investigation takes an unexpected turn and both lovers lose their lives.