While standing in line at Studio 54, Veronica Bryant is insulted by a man who seems perfect, until he opens his mouth. Both she and Henry Declan immediately see an attraction, but both have reasons to fight it.

When her sister, Darla, and his best friend, Garrett, start dating, it puts them together, and inevitably the unresolved sexual tension results in a torrid but clandestine affair over one weekend on a luxury yacht. After it’s over, Veronica meets Ken Griffin, who has nothing good to say about Declan, reinforcing her need to dislike Declan in spite of the physical attraction.

She's very attracted to Griffin too, and after a bit of lip-locking, contemplates a relationship. When Garrett hosts a major disco event, Declan tries to talk Veronica into continuing their affair, but she's cold to him. Immediately after the party, Declan and Garrett leave town, leaving Darla devastated.

Months later, Veronica and Declan meet again. But with multiple reasons to hold a grudge against Declan, Veronica confronts him. Following a charged sexual encounter, Declan proposes, but the ensuing argument leaves them both hurt and insulted by the other. But after she’s left him she realizes that she’s in love with him. He leaves her with a letter telling her about all the misconceptions she’s had about him, and about what a low-life Ken Griffin is.

In the spring, Veronica is on a vacation and re-encounters Declan, and they reconcile, making love and expressing their regrets for the past. But disaster relating to Veronica’s sister and Ken Griffin causes her to rush off, certain that Declan will leave her after this. Then she finds out that he's taken care of everything: paying bills, getting Griffin arrested, and doesn’t want her to know. In the meantime, he's sent her a love letter a day while he was away, and she realizes that all is not lost, and they finally become a couple. He proposes for a second time, and they celebrate their engagement by dancing at Studio 54.