When Nicole Carrington accidentally burns down the house that was meant to be her portion of the divorce settlement, she is forced out of her old neighborhood and into a life she doesn't recognize and never wanted. Then, to her delight, Nikki finds an empty storefront in the small town of Manitou Springs, Colorado, a shop she plans to make into a perfumery and call "Madame Mirabou's Elixirs of the Hours." All she has to do is be ready for the first weekend of the tourist season which gives her three months to clear out the junk in the old shop--three months to scrub the floors, collect her shelving, and get the perfume samples ready. Piece of cake.

As she starts to rebuild her life, she falls in love again, makes new friends and new enemies. Nikki also begins to discover who she really as she learns how to blend the notes of her old self with the notes of her new life, and to claim the perfume of these days for herself.