Kennedy Phillips returns home to Benton Center, Ohio, with a chip on her shoulder. By successfully managing a political campaign she hopes to prove that she’s a strong and capable woman, not merely the pampered daughter of the town’s wealthiest man.

Chris Lennox is not interested in Kennedy’s return, he is too busy managing his family’s legacy, the local bookshop. Chris was never part of her popular crowd, and he wouldn’t mind seeing the conceited homecoming queen flop.

As the guardians of rumor, the Ladies of the Gossip Club consider Kennedy Phillips too rich, too vain and too self-centered. They expect her to put minimum effort into the endeavor and rely on her reputation as she always has. When it comes to Chris Lennox, the Ladies and Kennedy herself have no opinion at all. He’s simply the sweet guy running his family’s business and not doing a very good job of it.

Benton Center is small and midwestern, but not immune from the tensions of contemporary American life. When Kennedy’s political campaign falters and book banners threaten to close Chris’ bookshop, the two young people face professional adversity as well as family pressure. Can the unattainable beauty and the overlooked homebody find a way to work together, or will their true feelings remain forever veiled?