When American, Rose Kavanaugh, accepts a job as head chef at a Welsh manor house hotel, she is taking on her dream job. She’s been given free rein to put her passion for creating an eco-friendly kitchen into practice.
In the plus column: she’ll be back in Britain, a country she’s loved since spending time there as a student, and she’ll be putting distance between herself and her on again, off again boyfriend in Chicago, vowing never to put her life on hold for another man again.
In the minus column: she wonders what she’s let herself in for. Repeated requests that she must behave with modesty and decorum--whatever that means--seems odd. And any correspondence she’s had with Tristan Pritchard, her future employer, felt stiff and formal, like talking to a man from another age.
On her way to take up her new position, she indulges in an impulsive, steamy encounter with a handsome stranger in a London elevator. This act of passion returns to haunt her later, putting her on frosty terms with Tristan Pritchard.
Further adding to her discomfort, the mysterious and cold Mr. Pritchard is also the sommelier she has to work closely with on food and wine pairings each week. Experience tells her the success of this restaurant depends on their collaboration. The pairing of food and wine is like a marriage, she says, and she’s determined to put and end to the distant and strained relationship they started out with.
As Rose slowly breaks down Tristan’s reserve, she learns what a complicated man he is. Part sophisticate, part earthy Welshmen: he’s a man trying to right wrongs done in both his recent and distant past, while running a hotel in what was once his ancestral home.
Over time they manage to establish a cordial working relationship, but the chemistry between them becomes unbearable. Tristan continues to hold Rose at arm’s length, making it clear he is currently unavailable. The more time Rose spends with Tristan, the more she questions whether there are some men worth waiting for.