The moment Isabel de Rossi turns eighteen, she insists on taking charge of Nimway Hall, which has stood empty for the past ten years. Well-aware that all her female forebears found true love at Nimway, she can’t wait to discover her own destined match. Instead she’s faced with Adam Driscoll, the infuriatingly practical estate manager whose presence is a constant, insulting reminder that her own grandmother thinks she has no idea what she’s doing.

Adam thought the recent offer of a position at Nimway Hall a godsend. After spending six years managing his elderly uncle’s estate he is at a crossroads, facing either a dreary career in the army or the church. At Nimway he can continue working with his hands, his feet firmly on the ground and his mind on practical matters of crops, millstones, and irrigation. He revels in the chance to restore this estate to its former glory as the well-run marvel of Somerset—even though several mysterious setbacks have befallen his efforts. The last complication he needs is a quirky, foreign-raised heiress intent on finding a magical orb and interfering with his well-laid plans; but practical Adam can’t help noticing that in her presence the repairs are suddenly going well, and that the pretty mistress of the Hall is clever, amusing, and genuinely interested improving her estate and the lives of her tenants. Despite their conflicting sensibilities he finds it hard to resist their simmering attraction. At the same time Adam is keenly aware that the more he helps Isabel with the estate the closer he is to assisting himself out of his position – and away from her. Despite herself, Isabel is reluctantly drawn to Adam’s quiet strength and dedication, but has begun to wonder if she somehow isn’t worthy of becoming the property’s guardian; though she searches everywhere for evidence of magic, the famous orb – the artifact reputedly responsible for every love match made at Nimway Hall, including her own parents’ – is nowhere to be found until dreamy Lord Alton from the neighboring estate arrives and starts to pursue Isabel. The pesky orb suddenly appears, though it seems to have a preference for Adam’s room. For a young lady in need of some polish, the choice between a charming viscount and an headstrong, interfering employee should be a simple one, but magic is a stubborn thing – and the heart is even more headstrong.