After a brief encounter with Ellen Baxter and her car door, Tom Rydale is determined to see her again. He heads to an art class that he thinks she'll be attending, but Ellen is delayed, thanks to her second car accident that day-and a home visit from a local police officer. Ellen in turn invites Tom to a party, not knowing that her ex will be there.

When Tom and Ellen's first date goes off the rails, Tom attempts to get things back on track with the help of Dwayne Pear, an old school friend who's now a food critic. But when Tom agrees to bring his sister for a double date with Dwayne at an exclusive fusion restaurant, allergies, lust, and criminal charges take over.

Ellen's birthday isn't going well: she's landed herself with a criminal record and a 9 p.m. curfew. Tom is planning her a birthday surprise and invites her to his parents' house that evening. He wants to impress her, while she just wants to get home on time, but neither of them has accounted for the intervention of Tom's parents.

Tom has discovered that Ellen has a passion for the TV series Sharpe, and, using it as inspiration, he invites her on a trip to one of the most romantic, historical spots in the UK. When he reveals his plans to his family, they decide to come along, too-and so does Ellen's flatmate, Hermione, who invites along Ellen's ex-boyfriend, Luke.

On the hottest day of the year, Ellen and Tom are keen to have sex and, having seen Ellen's police form from her court case, he assumes that she is turned on by uniforms and borrows his father's when he visits her. However, she still has an electronic tag on her ankle and sends him away. By the time it is removed, Tom has accidentally taken his sister's sleeping draught and is out for the count.

Tom's father finds out that Ellen has a criminal record, just as she's coming for lunch at their family home. Angered by their dirty looks and plastic cutlery, Ellen considers giving up on London entirely-until she discovers a grandfather she never knew she had, who's willing to share his hula hoops, his knowledge of pigeons, and his understanding of love.