College professor James Richards is in a rut and feeling his age. He moved to northern California to escape heartbreak and humiliation, but so far the only good thing to happen to him has been his Boston terrier, Marlowe.

Then James's toughest student sets him up with her best friend. Rafael Ochoa is worlds apart from James—chronologically, culturally, and philosophically—but he's also beautiful, kind, and a shot of adrenaline to James's not-quite-middle-aged heart. Together, the two of them forge a bridge between James's East Coast sensibilities and Rafael's West Coast casualness, but can their meeting of the hearts survive James's lack of faith in happy-ever-after?