Two short novellas set twenty years apart chronicle how a collection of cats make for mischievous matchmakers.

When English potter Emma settles in thriving Galena, Illinois to establish her own workshop in 1842, she expects she'll be able to sell her wares in the local dry goods store. Robert, the proprietor, claims he doesn't have the space to carry more than a couple of pieces, though. That is, until his cat's playful antics lead to an unforeseen incident that compels both Robert and Emma to contemplate much more than just a business arrangement.

Twenty years later, Emma and Robert's daughter, Ella Mae, is reacquainted with John. They shared a schoolroom while growing up in Galena. He has recently returned to the boom town after suffering an eye injury in one of the early battles of the Civil War and now runs the local stable. He has no intention of attending the local masquerade ball, but after Ella Mae's father arranges for him to drive her home one evening, he changes his mind. With a quartet of mischievous cats involved, is the groom about to become a bridegroom?