Following the death of Esther's father, her mother is left with no choice than to send her children half-way across the country to live with her sister. Although it has been a long time since Esther last saw her cousins, an immediate friendship is formed between her and Ryan, her eldest cousin, who shows Esther a whole new world and helps her overcome her grief. As the two come closer, they slowly and unconsciously fall in love. Their love, unexpected and yet so powerful, forces them to make life-changing decisions if they want to be together forever.

The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.