It's the early 1970s New England, where the lovely but naive Stefanie Parker fancies herself in love with Phillip Stafford, an attractive, mild-mannered Army private. However, their love is soon put on hold when Phil is sent to Germany to serve a two-year tour.
Stefanie, convinced that she is destined for a long and lonely wait, receives a welcome call from her best friend, the charmingly Southern Lynn Swanson. Lynn has finished college and is moving back to Connecticut, providing the perfect opportunity for the girls to finally share an apartment. Lynn is quick to land herself a job in Hartford and settles into the world of advertising with her handsome new boss, Chase Atkins.
All goes smoothly until an unexpected errand takes Stefanie to the airport, where she collides with incredibly arrogant yet irresistible Brent McKenna. Their accidental meeting appears to be an isolated one until Stefanie learns that he is a former employee and friend of Chase Atkins, visiting Hartford for the purpose of getting his old job back. Chase rehires him, with the stipulation that he and Lynn will work as a team. Lynn immediately resents him, and the power struggle begins.
Stefanie, by this time, is fighting a battle of her own, between her love for Phil and her unrelenting attraction to Brent, who eventually wears on her inhibitions. This causes a seemingly irreparable rift between herself and Lynn, who thinks she is being selfish and unfair to everyone concerned.
In the meantime, Brent is sent to London to open the new office for Atkins & Associates, happy in the delusion that his rival (Phil) is at last out of the picture. During his absence, Stefanie finally finds the courage to write the letter that will end her relationship with Phil, only to find out later that something went terribly wrong, threatening not only Brent's love for her but also his very life.
