Years ago, a fight estranged Thaddeus Hartington from his son David. Gravely ill, Thaddeus refuses a risky aneurysm surgery, until he has tried making up with David. Now his doctor's heiress Kate Spellman sets out to find David. He runs a bookshop, without business sense but with a passion for rare editions and a deep mistrusting grudge, so she hides her purpose, fearing the mission hopeless. The key to his heart is devotion his own, doted pre-teen son Jeffrey, who takes a liking to Kate, first a a riding instructor, and soon starts plotting to fix the adults.