She's just rescued her neighbour from a violent intruder and in the process become sole-custodian of Paco, the Great Dane - not the ideal accessory for a New York city girl.
Now Mel needs help, but she won't get it from her neighbour's only relative - ice-cool womanizer Max Friedlander. Max hasn't a compassionate bone in his body and he isn't about to give up his vacation with a supermodel just to help his sick aunt's annoying neighbour.
But if Max is to protect his inheritance, he needs a substitute to play the caring nephew and take over dog-walking duties from Mel. So when he calls in a favour from his old friend John, in theory, everyone's problems are taken care of.
In practice, they have only just begun.
THE GUY NEXT DOOR is a wonderful, funny tale of love, office politics and mistaken identities from the author of THE PRINCESS DIARIES - for slightly older but no less starry-eyed readers.