Nina Askew has always wanted a puppy, but her ex-husband had always refused. Following her divorce and facing her fortieth birthday, she heads to the pound in search of a cute, cuddly, perky puppy to cheer her up. But instead she is drawn toward an older, midsized, seemingly depressed mutt - too big for her apartment, too melancholy for her state of mind, but she can't help but adopt him anyway. With Fred now in her life, everything seems to change - her priorities, her attitude and, unexpectedly, her love life when Fred brings Nina's much younger neighbor, Alex, into the picture. Despite all the waving red flags, Nina allows herself to consider the possibility that maybe somehow he'd miraculously be interested in an older woman with a depressed dog.

Part basset, part beagle, all Cupid...

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom—from the ex-husband, freedom from their stuffy suburban home, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed—a puppy. A bouncy, adorable puppy.

Instead she gets...Fred.

Overweight, middle-aged, a bit smelly and obviously depressed, Fred is light-years from perky. But he does manage to put Nina in the path of Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger-by-a-decade neighbor.

Alex seems perfect—he's a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor—but the age gap convinces Nina that anyone but Alex would be better relationship material. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young, dog-loving doc she wants to sit and stay!