Oxford, Present Day. Researcher Anna Butler is hopelessly in love with history professor Jeremy Trelawny. Forced to endure him dating other women without sparing her a second glance, Anna suffers in silence. However, while examining some 18th-century books for Jeremy's smallpox research, Anna finds a memoir with unexpected parallels to her situation.

Essex, 1766. Mercy Graham is hired as a maid to unconventional rector Sebastian Fannon. But when his handsome, arrogant friend Jasper Donne comes to stay, Mercy falls hard. A lowly pox-scarred maid isn't on Jasper's wishlist for a wife, yet she unwittingly discovers a secret that connects them on a deeper level.

As Mercy's story with the roguish Jasper unfolds, Anna attempts to deal with her own love life. But is fake dating a friend's cousin the best solution?

If you like contemporary romance and historical fiction then you'll love this funny, heartwarming dual timeline rom-com.