Serena Johannes is a determined woman. With a father as a drunkard and a mother who is watching after her siblings, Serena takes it upon herself to keep her family off the streets. She had just landed a second job and with her work schedule, she is too busy to be thinking about anything else. It's not easy being a working woman in 1867. Everett Peterson is a student at Yale College. The mechanical sciences are what interests him most, but his mother has other plans for him. Mrs. Peterson is invested to find a wife for him when he graduates. Not just any wife though, one who has been brought up properly and fits into their circle flawlessly. When Everett sees Serena, sparks fly. When she takes a liking to him too it seems as though everything should fall into place. They don't. Things become messy, but they will try to find a way to make it work because love is worth fighting for.