Bex Harmin's muse hounds her. Most writers wouldn't mind that but most writers' muses aren't as visible and vocal as Bex's muse, Adder. Adder's the aetherial embodiment of everything she's ever wanted in a man with one glaring exception. He isn't real. Not how it counts. Not that romance figures into her life at all. At her first big convention as an author, Bex has a table full of books and cool merchandise to sell. She's determined to make a name for herself until she discovers the dealers' room is overbooked and she's been crammed into the walk of fame with all the actors and famous writers where no one is interested in meeting an author they've never heard of. Except for Daniel Quick, the most famous voice actor around. Daniel takes an interest in Bex and her books and he quickens her pulse as well. It's the first time in a long time a human man's set her imagination aflame and not the aetherial being who can't leave her alone. Adder doesn't consider the competition friendly and he's out to prove there's only room for one muse in Bex's life.

Emma Woodhouse, aged 20 at the start of the novel, is a young, beautiful, witty, and privileged woman in Regency England. She lives on the fictional estate of Hartfield in Surrey in the village of Highbury with her elderly widowed father, a hypochondriac who is excessively concerned for the health and safety of his loved ones. Emma's friend and only critic is the gentlemanly George Knightley, her neighbour from the adjacent estate of Donwell, and the brother of her elder sister Isabella's husband, John. As the novel opens, Emma has just attended the wedding of Miss Taylor, her best friend and former governess. Having introduced Miss Taylor to her future husband, Mr. Weston, Emma takes credit for their marriage, and decides that she rather likes matchmaking.