Rachel Howell moves to Sicily to bring up her niece Luisa as her own daughter after the death of her sister Fiona and husband Lucio in a car crash. She rents an enchanting villa so that she can concentrate on her writing but the villa's owner, by coincidence, is Louisa's uncle. He does not intend to lose his niece now that he has found her and if marrying Rachel is the only way to bring about his goal then so be it.