Jeremy, the "Mr. Malcolm" of the title, develops something of a reputation in Regency-era England: he has a list of qualities he insists upon in a potential wife. After being spurned by Jeremy, Julia asks her old school friend Selina to help her get revenge. The plan is to make Jeremy fall in love with Selina, only for her to reject him based on a "list" of her own. But the chaotic plan gets even messier when Selina starts to really fall for Jeremy, while even Julia finds a potential new love of her own.