A laid-off female art teacher inherits a once-glorious gilded-age Newport mansion and must find the funds to restore it for sale with the help of a gun-shy widowed master craftsman, if they can navigate their growing attraction and the sabotage of a wealthy and powerful woman who wants the mansion, and the man, for herself.

SYNOPSIS:

Kendra Burgess (white, 25 to 30) loves her ancestral home, the Newport, Rhode Island gilded-age mansion called The Burgess. Wrestling with guilt that she didn’t spend more time with her mother before she died, and having recently been laid off, Kendra discovers there isn’t enough money left to restore the mansion’s deteriorating structure and it must be sold. The Burgess was on the famed annual Newport Tour of Homes for decades but that won’t happen now. Wealthy and powerful local Julia Steinwell (white, 25 to 30), a childhood acquaintance who bullied Kendra, is determined to drive Kendra out of town and buy The Burgess for a low-ball price.

Enter gorgeous local widower Colt Yancy (African American, 30ish), a tremendously gifted craftsman who is content selling hand-made furniture and toys to local stores. His three eccentric aunties (African American, 60s) are determined to show him he has the talent to extend his business to restoration of mansions and beyond. If they can matchmake and help him discover a new love with Kendra at the same time, all the better.

Colt and Kendra meet when Kendra hurts her ankle jogging, and he carries her into her house. His aunties butt in and are delighted when they witness the attraction sparking between the couple. The aunties inform Kendra he’s a master craftsman and carpenter and could help restore the mansion, but Kendra explains she can’t afford it, and he lacks confidence to take on such an extensive project. Despite his attraction to Kendra, Colt doesn’t think he’s over the death of his wife years ago, so he rebuffs his aunts’ attempts to match him. This doesn’t stop Julia, who dated Colt briefly a year ago, from believing she can win him back.

Kendra witnesses a boy, Dean Nomura (Japanese American, 10), being bullied when local teens tear up his book of hand-drawn art. She stops the boys and talks with Dean. He confesses he has no friends, and he and Kendra bond over being bullied. Kendra helps him pick up the torn pieces of his art book and notes Dean has artistic talent beyond his years. She encourages him to continue drawing.

Behind the scenes, Julia spreads malicious rumors about Kendra and maligns her in front of patrons at a coffee shop. Colt hears the rumors and witnesses the bullying, and it pushes him to offer to restore The Burgess for free. Kendra says no, but then accepts his offer on the condition she pay him from the profits of a final sale of The Burgess. Kendra receives moral support when her friend Shanna (white, 25-30) arrives in town. Shanna meets Colt’s best friend Eli (Native American, 30ish) and they’re instantly attracted to each other.

Kendra spots Dean at a local eatery with his family and asks Dean if he’d like to do a couple of special drawings for her to display at the Burgess during the upcoming tour of homes. Dean and his parents are ecstatic. Restoration begins, and through the process, Colt and Kendra are falling hard for each other. The romance comes crashing down when Julia arranges for Kendra to see her kiss Colt. Kendra’s trust with Colt is dented, but he’s determined to prove that he’s her man and that the kiss with Julia wasn’t mutual.

Disaster strikes when The Burgess is vandalized. Colt can’t fix things in time for the Newport home tour, and Kendra is devastated. Colt’s aunties take photos of Julia paying off teenage boys to vandalize the mansion. They report her and the boys to the police, and her humiliation comes in front of townsfolk and Colt and Kendra. Colt and Kendra won’t press charges if Julia agrees to fund the repairs necessary to fix the damage done to The Burgess. She complies and leaves town. Townspeople and the teen vandals pitch in to help the restoration of The Burgess and it’s completed in time for the Newport home tour.

During a tour ball at The Burgess, Colt and Kendra realize they are meant for each other and kiss. Kendra decides not to sell The Burgess but to turn the mansion into an events center, and everyone wants to hire Colt for big projects. They both get their dream jobs, and each other. Dean’s drawings sell for a considerable sum, money he can apply toward college and pursue his artistic dreams. And Shanna and Eli dance and the magic they feel cannot be denied. Could there be romance for them in the future?