Nora Hamilton starts her day in her 100-year-old home in Laurel Ridge, an hour and a half from New York City. Although she goes about her normal routine, drinking coffee while watching the sunrise on her porch and getting her children ready for school, this is a special day. Nora, who is generally employed writing formulaic scripts for The Romance Channel, sold her last project to a major studio, and it is being made into a movie starring two of Hollywood’s most famous actors. The crew will shoot in the tea house behind her home for two days.

Nora wakes up thinking about the financial relief that the film brings. She can pay off all her debts and keep her beloved house, a shabby place with deep sentimental value. More than anything, Nora loves the spectacular view of the sunrise and the small tea house in the back, where she writes. Her ex-husband, Ben, dreamed of a glamorous life in the city and was constantly dissatisfied with life in the sleepy town of Laurel Ridge. However, it was the only place they could afford because Ben, who grew up wealthy and entitled, refused to work.