The plan was simple: play the foil, get dumped, live happily ever after. Now the duke is head over heels, the world is on the brink of war, and the villainess is going to die. A reincarnated woman finds herself trapped as Grace Saintsbury, the grasping villainess of her favorite romance novel. Her only hope for survival is to follow the original story by dumping the Cold-Hearted Duke, Zane, so he can meet the true heroine, Charlotte. If she fails, a catastrophic war will break out, and she will die.

The protagonist was once an ordinary, overworked salarywoman who scrimped and saved to support her impoverished parents. After dying from exhaustion, she awoke in the body of Grace, a noblewoman infamous for her cruelty and for discarding lovers on a whim. Armed with her knowledge of the book’s plot, she knows the pivotal event that will prevent the war is her character’s spectacular public break-up with Duke Zane. The problem is that playing a vindictive noblewoman when she possesses the heart of a commoner proves nearly impossible. Her every attempt at villainy backfires, and instead of driving Zane away, her unconventional behavior begins to attract him. Matters are further complicated by the dark, underlying narrative of the novel, which includes the brutal murder of Zane’s younger sister. In a desperate moment that requires her to save the sister’s life, the protagonist is forced to eat weeds from sheer panic to come up with a believable excuse for her actions, revealing just how far she will stray from the original plot.

The story takes place in a noble society reminiscent of a European fairy tale, where grand balls, intricate social hierarchies, and political maneuvering are the norm. The looming threat of war hangs over every interaction, and the opulent setting is contrasted with grim realities such as murder and a child slavery ring that the original narrative would have allowed to continue unchecked.

The narrative arc begins with the protagonist’s desperate attempts to initiate the break-up scene. Her failure to be convincingly evil leads to a growing connection with Zane, forcing her to confront the original story’s tragic events head-on. Major plot points include her successful rescue of Zane’s sister from an assassin and her unexpected turn as a philanthropist opening a soup kitchen, actions that drastically alter the world around her. These heroic deeds, intended to save lives, only further convince Zane of her goodness. The first volume ends with a reversal of all her plans; instead of releasing the duke to his true love, she finds herself held close as he whispers that he will never let her go, setting the stage for a series where the villainess must continue to run from her increasingly infatuated boyfriend while navigating a world she has irrevocably changed.