Heiress Evangeline "Lindy" Lindenmayer has been groomed since childhood to marry into the British aristocracy in order to fulfil her mother's ambition for a royal title in the family. But literature fascinates Lindy far more than ballgowns, and she spends all her free time in the library, the only room in the 5th Avenue mansion where she can safely indulge her passion for reading and find refuge from the prying eyes of her mother.

Jack Winthrop is studying for the ministry at Union Theological Seminary and has been invited to use the Lindenmayer library for his studies. His sole experience of upper-class young women has occurred at his uncle's church, where he has found these debutantes to be universally featherbrained. When he meets Lindy, he is pleasantly surprised to discover she has wide-ranging interests and is highly intelligent. Although cautioned by his uncle to stay away from her, he finds Lindy to be a kindred spirit, and over animated discussions about books and life, they fall in love.

But to reach happily ever after, Lindy will need to challenge her mother's long-laid plans, and weathering the approaching storm will take more backbone than she ever knew she had.