Plot summary

Ten years ago, the McArthy and Harper families severed all cordial ties with each other after the family matriarchs, once best friends Faye McArthy and Lydia Harper, had a falling out when Lydia, who was taught how to bake by Faye, opened her own bakery without Faye, a co-owned and operated bakery which was their dream. Lydia had to choose the seed money that was provided to her for the venture or Faye, she choosing the money. Since, Faye has opened her own bakery, the fortunes of the rival businesses rising and falling with whoever wins the annual Lake Shore County Harvest Festial Pumpkin Pie Bake-Off. Since Lydia has won the last three years, Faye's bakery is falling on hard times, she counting on winning the bake-off this year, as well as winning the lucrative contract to service a major hotel, for the business to pull through. Making matters worse, an accident forces Faye out of this year's bake-off, leaving the bakery's fortunes in the hands of her daughter, cooking/baking challenged Casey McArthy, a Wharton business graduate who could have had her choice of any finance job in New York but chose to come home to Emeryville to help her mother handle all the bakery's financial matters. Learning what happened to Faye, Lydia decides to hand over the bakery's reigns at the bake-off to her son, Cordon Bleu trained chef Sam Harper. Despite Sam having the obvious upper hand over Casey at the bake-off, not all is harmonious between Sam and his mother, Sam who wants to expand the business into a full service restaurant against his conservative mother's wishes. With both their bakery business fortunes at stake and learning of the other's problems, Casey and Sam, who never had any real issue with the other, decide, without anyone, especially their mothers, knowing, to help the other achieve their short term goal: Sam will teach Casey how to bake for the bake-off, while Casey will help Sam with the business proposal to turn the bakery into a full service restaurant. In the process, they both end up realizing that there can be only one winner at the bake-off, both their dreams hinging on winning, but that they are are falling in love with each other. What may be the answer to the problem of the bake-off is to focus on a common goal important to both of them.

Ten years ago, the McArthy and Harper families severed all cordial ties with each other after the family matriarchs, once best friends Faye McArthy and Lydia Harper, had a falling out when Lydia, who was taught how to bake by Faye, opened her own bakery without Faye, a co-owned and operated bakery which was their dream. Lydia had to choose the seed money that was provided to her for the venture or Faye, she choosing the money. Since, Faye has opened her own bakery, the fortunes of the rival businesses rising and falling with whoever wins the annual Lake Shore County Harvest Festial Pumpkin Pie Bake-Off. Since Lydia has won the last three years, Faye's bakery is falling on hard times, she counting on winning the bake-off this year, as well as winning the lucrative contract to service a major hotel, for the business to pull through. Making matters worse, an accident forces Faye out of this year's bake-off, leaving the bakery's fortunes in the hands of her daughter, cooking/baking challenged Casey McArthy, a Wharton business graduate who could have had her choice of any finance job in New York but chose to come home to Emeryville to help her mother handle all the bakery's financial matters. Learning what happened to Faye, Lydia decides to hand over the bakery's reigns at the bake-off to her son, Cordon Bleu trained chef Sam Harper. Despite Sam having the obvious upper hand over Casey at the bake-off, not all is harmonious between Sam and his mother, Sam who wants to expand the business into a full service restaurant against his conservative mother's wishes. With both their bakery business fortunes at stake and learning of the other's problems, Casey and Sam, who never had any real issue with the other, decide, without anyone, especially their mothers, knowing, to help the other achieve their short term goal: Sam will teach Casey how to bake for the bake-off, while Casey will help Sam with the business proposal to turn the bakery into a full service restaurant. In the process, they both end up realizing that there can be only one winner at the bake-off, both their dreams hinging on winning, but that they are are falling in love with each other. What may be the answer to the problem of the bake-off is to focus on a common goal important to both of them.

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