Whippet Moran is a single mom with no job and no home, and now, after the death of her grandmother, she’s got to return to the last place she wants to go: her grandmother’s hometown of Normal, Missouri. She arrives in true Whippet fashion, speeding into town, where she is promptly pulled over by Normal’s chief of police, Sam Beaufort. Things are about to go from bad to worse because, with a few unpaid tickets under her belt, Whippet soon finds her car impounded. Now she’s stuck in Normal—indefinitely.

Determined to make the most of her stay, Whippet works a series of odd jobs and dips her toe into the dating pool, but nothing seems to stick—until she learns she’s inherited a building from her grandmother and inspiration strikes. As she works to make something more of her life, there is one constant presence, whether she likes it or not: Sam Beaufort, the cop whose speeding ticket welcomed her to town. Amid all the mishaps of her stay in Normal, Whippet’s connection to Sam, though often infuriating, is undeniable. But can two people with broken pasts build a lasting future together?