High school is hard, but for Hannah Prescott it has become unbearable. She has an overzealous admirer whose advances are moving from challenging to terrifying. In her mind there is only one solution: Nikolai Ivanov. Nikolai, with his tendency towards violence and connections to the Russian mob, is exactly who Hannah needs to keep herself safe. Her idea is to pretend to date so her suitor will be too intimidated to approach her.
Nikolai Ivanov has had no use for relationships, seeing how brutally they can be dispatched through his father's involvement with the Russian mob. When Hannah approaches him, he is initially dismissive. However, witnessing her distress and fear pulls him at ways he doesn't want to admit to. He agrees to Hannah's charade, but is determined to keep it impersonal. At first. Soon, all of his protective instincts are triggered and while he wants to create distance between himself and Hannah, he can't keep his hands off of her.
Other dangers related to Nikolai's father create more problems for the pair when Hannah and her younger sister are threatened in attempt to control Nikolai. Nikolai works to keep Hannah and her sister safe while confronting how important Hannah has become to him.
