John, who has always been a birder, quit his pursuit for a Ph.D. in the field in realizing he disliked academia preferring the great outdoors side of this part of his life. This change led to the breakup with his fellow birder and academic, Breena, who wanted someone more seriously academic about it than John. Having settled for a corporate job at the Nature Conservancy, John dreams of starting his own bird guiding business instead. High school English teacher Celeste got divorced a year ago after twenty-two years of marriage. Still settling into a post-marriage life as a single with she avoiding any hint of dating, Celeste is facing another shock in that their only offspring, Morgan, is heading away to college to leave Celeste as a single empty nester. John and Celeste meet for the first time when their mutual friend Eva asks Celeste to fill in for her as John's partner in a "Bird-a-Thon", which John and Breena have won for the past three years, Breena this year entered with her new personal and professional partner, Lazlo. With it for the first time offering lucrative prize money to the winner, John is hoping to win to be able to start his business, while in the process beat Breena and Lazlo. Non-birder Celeste only agrees in knowing that John is also actively avoiding romance in his life and knowing that he needs a partner for his goal. Celeste however is mistaken when she believes part of the ask is to act as John's girlfriend to make Breena jealous. But it extends in the other direction when Celeste asks John to continue the act in front of her colleagues, who she wants to stop trying to set her up. As John and Celeste spend time together over the three week Bird-a-Thon in which Celeste takes her birding role very seriously, neither may want to admit either to him/herself or to the other that that pretend romance has changed to true feelings on both sides.