Janet Flanders is a small-town, unsophisticated young woman who is seduced by the fantasy of romantic love; she believes that someday her prince will come to sweep her away. Then she meets handsome Brett Becker; she believes she's found the man of her dreams -- little suspecting he is engaged to marry a wealthy socialite. Deep into her illusion that Brett loves her, she moves to Chicago to be closer to him, deluge him with calls and love notes, tells her family about her boyfriend Brett, and buys an engagement ring. Her obsession with him leads her from intrigue and eventually to murder.

Upon her release from a mental institution where she was recovering from a suicide attempt, Andrea McBride applies for the position of nanny for a handsome, wealthy surgeon, Dr. James Lewis, a widower with two children. Another applicant is hired, but she dies in an accident and Andrea gets the job after all, excelling and quickly becoming part of the family. Then Lewis' girlfriend, Dr. Julia Bruning, is mysteriously killed. When his boss tells Lewis of impending cutbacks at the hospital, the boss is murdered. Meanwhile, Lewis' teenaged daughter Fawn begins piecing together the history of the new nanny and discovers that Andrea may be responsible for these and other killings - but Fawn had better hurry, because the slayings are getting closer to home