Emmy Bonaire has built a successful career as a historian by anticipating the worst outcome and avoiding it at all costs. What she couldn't foresee was her history museum having to combine with the science museum across campus. Even worse, Emmy now has to share an office and design an exhibition with an annoyingly attractive fellow curator, Dr. Ryan Andersson, a paleontologist whose optimism is only topped by Emmy's skepticism of him.

Ryan considers himself a likeable guy. That is, until he meets Emmy. She seems immune to his midwestern charm and attempts at professional collaboration. Not one to let something go, Ryan embarks on a personal campaign for Emmy to like him. For the museum's sake, of course. Not at all because the gruff historian piques his interest.

As Emmy and Ryan evolve from begrudging co-workers to steamy stolen kisses in the archives, their academic work benefits as well. But when their collaborative exhibition becomes critical to both of their successes-while their career goals become further unaligned-extinction seems imminent.