Lauren's parents died in a car accident just before she turned eighteen, and she has been on her own ever since. She is just barely surviving, trying to make ends meet, and her beauty has made her a target in her neighborhood of Chicago. When tycoon Robert Stillwell has to take a wife before turning thirty in just a few months, due to the unfortunate clause his father put into his work contract, he advertises for a wife. He doesn't want the emotional involvement.
When he sees how beautiful Lauren is during her interview, but also sees the bruises in the shape of a handprint on her arm, he knows she is the right choice. He can provide her with protection and not have to worry about a clingy wife. By marrying her, he has rescued her, but he never counted on how attracted he would be to her. To Lauren, it seems that everything she does makes Robert mad. She never knows when he will get upset or why he is angry. Can they ever learn to get past the obstacles holding them apart and turn their marriage of convenience into a real one?