故事情節設定在上世紀60年代的紐約，建築師華特娶了漂亮的克萊兒為妻，兩人過著看似完美的生活。但事實是，兩人早已同床異夢，華特試圖離開妻子克萊兒，為他們的婚姻劃下句點，但在華特逐漸與美麗的外遇對象糾纏，妻子克萊兒反遭離奇謀殺，這樁懸案使得華特陷入麻煩之中，不僅被殺手追殺、被偵探懷疑，生活更陷入重重危機。

This comical love story follows the story of A.J. Fikry, whose life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history and now his prized possession, a rare edition of Poe poems, has been stolen. He’s given up on people and even the books in his store offer another reminder that the world is changing too rapidly. But when a mysterious package arrives at the store, it gives Fikry the chance to make his life over and see things anew.

Readers across the world are in love with author Sally Carmichael's series of romance novels that chronicle the epic love story between a human girl and a merman. But no one knows that Sally Carmichael is really Simon Hayes, a bitter, serious novelist - and Simon would like to keep it that way. When he is forced to meet a movie star about the movie adaptation, his life of anonymity starts to crumble.