Code, Conferences, and Chaos

Daisy, a brilliant but introverted software engineer, is thrust into chaos at a tech conference. She stumbles upon her ex-boyfriend making out with her former boss, dodges her matchmaking aunties, and collides—literally—with Liam Murphy, her brother's old best friend and her teenage crush who broke her heart by standing her up at prom and vanishing for a decade. Daisy's life, usually governed by logic and plans, is suddenly upended by emotional turmoil and unexpected encounters.

The Return of Liam

Liam, now a successful venture capitalist, is back in San Francisco for family reasons. His chance meeting with Daisy is fraught with unresolved pain and sharp banter. Both are forced to confront the past: Daisy's lingering hurt and Liam's guilt over his abrupt departure. Their chemistry is undeniable, but so is their mutual distrust. The stage is set for a collision of old feelings and new possibilities.

A Deal of Convenience

Liam learns he must marry by his next birthday and stay married for a year to inherit his late grandfather's whiskey distillery—otherwise, it goes to his brother Brendan, who plans to sell it. Daisy, meanwhile, is desperate to escape her family's matchmaking and save her struggling company, Organicare. They strike a deal: a fake engagement and marriage of convenience, each hoping to solve their own problems without emotional entanglement.

Family Legacies and Ultimatums

Liam's family is divided by old wounds and the fate of the distillery. Brendan resents Liam and is eager to claim the inheritance. Daisy's family, a vibrant and meddling Indian-American clan, is relentless in their matchmaking. Both protagonists are caught between personal desires and family expectations, forced to navigate cultural traditions, sibling rivalries, and the weight of legacy.

The Dating Plan Unveiled

Daisy, ever the planner, creates a detailed "dating plan" to make their relationship appear authentic. The plan includes staged dates, family meetings, and a wedding at city hall. Liam, the spontaneous risk-taker, chafes at the structure but goes along. Their fake dates—shopping for wedding outfits, Indian dinners, sports nights, and family gatherings—are filled with awkwardness, humor, and growing attraction.

Fake Dates, Real Feelings

As Daisy and Liam execute their dating plan, the line between fake and real blurs. Their banter turns flirtatious, their staged kisses become electric, and their emotional walls begin to crumble. Daisy's friends and colleagues, as well as Liam's family, are drawn into the charade, each with their own suspicions and hopes. Both Daisy and Liam struggle to maintain boundaries as genuine feelings emerge.

Family Trials and Sibling Rivalries

Liam's relationship with his brother Brendan is fraught with resentment and misunderstanding, rooted in their abusive father and the family's fractured past. Daisy's family interrogates Liam, testing his worthiness and intentions. Both protagonists are forced to confront the ways their families have shaped their fears and desires, and to reckon with the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Secrets, Swords, and Sherwanis

The couple's fake engagement leads to a series of comedic and heartfelt encounters: shopping for elaborate Indian wedding attire (and swords), navigating Daisy's eccentric relatives, and enduring awkward family dinners. These moments highlight the collision of their Irish and Indian heritages, the absurdity of their ruse, and the deepening of their bond through shared vulnerability and laughter.

The Hockey Game Kiss

A pivotal date at a hockey game cements their chemistry. Caught on the kiss cam, Daisy and Liam share a passionate, unscripted kiss that stirs jealousy, gossip, and self-reflection. The moment marks a turning point: their feelings are no longer just for show. The world sees them as a couple, and for the first time, they begin to see themselves that way too.

Lines Blurred, Rules Broken

Despite their rules—no sex, no feelings—Daisy and Liam succumb to their attraction. Their physical intimacy is both a release and a complication, forcing them to confront what they truly want. The fake marriage becomes a crucible for honesty, as secrets about their pasts, fears, and dreams come to light. The risk of heartbreak grows as their emotional investment deepens.

Crashes, Consequences, and Confessions

A motorcycle accident nearly kills Daisy, sending shockwaves through both families. In the aftermath, guilt and fear drive Liam to push Daisy away, convinced he's unworthy and dangerous. Daisy, recovering in the hospital, is forced to confront her own abandonment issues and the pain of loving someone who might leave. Both must decide whether to retreat into old patterns or fight for a future together.

Breaking and Healing Hearts

Daisy and Liam go their separate ways, each grappling with loss and longing. Daisy throws herself into saving Organicare, discovering her own strength and leadership. Liam faces his family, reconciles with Brendan, and reevaluates his pursuit of professional success at the expense of personal happiness. Both realize that love requires vulnerability, forgiveness, and the courage to choose each other.

The Power of Community

Daisy's friends and family support her through heartbreak and professional challenges, while Liam's family comes together to save the distillery and heal old wounds. The importance of community, chosen family, and cultural heritage is underscored as both protagonists learn that they are not alone, and that love is sustained by the people who stand by them.

Facing the Past

Liam finally confesses the real reason he left Daisy on prom night: he took the fall for a friend (Sanjay, Daisy's brother) to protect him from legal trouble, then helped his abused mother escape. Daisy's father, initially hurt by Liam's disappearance, forgives him after learning the truth. The past is laid to rest, clearing the way for a new beginning.

Choosing Love Over Legacy

Liam is offered a prestigious partnership in New York but realizes that true worth comes from love, not titles. He chooses to stay in San Francisco, rebuild the distillery with Brendan, and fight for Daisy. Daisy, now CEO of Organicare, embraces her own power and worth, no longer defined by her mother's abandonment or her family's expectations.

The Final Test

Liam faces Daisy's extended family in a hilarious and heartfelt interrogation, proving his devotion and earning their blessing. Daisy, in turn, realizes that she must choose Liam for herself, not just for her family. Their love, tested by tradition, trauma, and time, is finally recognized as real by everyone who matters.

Rain, Redemption, and Real Love

In a callback to Daisy's favorite romantic trope, Liam finds her at a bus stop in the rain and proposes, not as part of a plan, but from the heart. Daisy accepts, and together they rewrite their story—not as a spreadsheet or a charade, but as partners in love and life. Their wedding, blending Irish and Indian traditions, is a celebration of family, forgiveness, and the messy, beautiful unpredictability of real love.

Characters

Daisy Patel

Daisy is a brilliant, introverted Indian-American software engineer who copes with life's unpredictability through meticulous planning and emotional detachment. Scarred by her mother's abandonment and a lifetime of being "weirdly smart," she fears vulnerability and expects to be left behind. Her journey is one of learning to trust, to accept love, and to embrace her own worth. Daisy's relationships—with her father, her extended family, her friends, and especially Liam—force her to confront her fears and redefine what it means to be "enough." Her arc is a movement from isolation and self-protection to connection, leadership, and self-acceptance.

Liam Murphy

Once a rebellious bad boy, Liam is now a successful venture capitalist haunted by a traumatic childhood and a legacy of family dysfunction. His self-worth is tied to achievement, but beneath his bravado lies deep insecurity and a fear of not being "good enough." His love for Daisy is both a source of hope and a trigger for his old wounds. Liam's journey is about facing his past, reconciling with his family, and learning that true strength comes from vulnerability and love, not from running away or proving himself to others.

Brendan Murphy

Brendan, Liam's older brother, is the "good son" who stayed behind to run the family business. He resents Liam's freedom and their grandfather's favoritism, but is himself trapped by duty and unfulfilled dreams. Brendan's arc is one of grudging reconciliation, as he and Liam confront their shared trauma and learn to support each other as adults.

Daisy's Father (Nadal Patel)

A widower who copes with loss through extreme adventures and relentless matchmaking, Daisy's father is both a source of support and pressure. His journey mirrors Daisy's: learning to let go, to trust his daughter's choices, and to find love again with Priya.

Layla

Layla is Daisy's best friend and confidante, fiercely loyal and unafraid to challenge Daisy's choices. She represents the voice of caution and tradition, but ultimately supports Daisy's pursuit of happiness.

Brendan's Family (Lauren and Jaxon)

Lauren, Brendan's wife, and Jaxon, their son, embody the possibility of healthy family bonds and the next generation's hope. Their presence helps bridge the gap between Liam and Brendan.

Daisy's Aunties

A chorus of meddling, loving, and sometimes overbearing women, the aunties represent the pressures and joys of community. They are both obstacles and allies in Daisy's journey toward self-determination.

Josh, Mia, Zoe

Daisy's colleagues at Organicare become her support system, helping her find her voice and leadership. Their struggles and triumphs mirror Daisy's own, reinforcing the theme of community.

Priya

Priya, Daisy's father's fiancée, is a symbol of second chances and the possibility of happiness after loss.

Sanjay

Daisy's brother, whose hidden role in Liam's past is a turning point in the story. His eventual honesty and support help heal old wounds and enable Daisy and Liam's reunion.

Plot Devices

Fake Relationship / Marriage of Convenience

The central device is the classic "fake relationship" trope, used here to explore themes of authenticity, vulnerability, and the blurry line between pretense and truth. The dating plan, with its spreadsheet and scheduled dates, is both a comic device and a metaphor for Daisy's need for control and Liam's resistance to it. As the plan unravels, so do their defenses, forcing both to confront what they truly want.

Dual Family Legacies

The inheritance ultimatum—Liam must marry to save the distillery—serves as a catalyst for action and a symbol of the weight of family expectations. The parallel pressures on Daisy (arranged marriage, family approval) and Liam (proving himself, sibling rivalry) create a mirror structure, highlighting cultural differences and universal struggles.

Secrets and Confessions

The story is driven by secrets: why Liam left, what happened on prom night, the truth about Daisy's mother, and the hidden pain in both families. The gradual revelation of these secrets, through confessions and confrontations, is the engine of character growth and reconciliation.

Comic Set Pieces and Cultural Clashes

The novel uses comic set pieces—shopping for wedding outfits, family interrogations, disastrous dates, and culinary misadventures—to diffuse tension and explore cultural identity. The blending of Irish and Indian traditions, and the affectionate mockery of both, create a rich, textured backdrop for the romance.

Symbolic Objects

Objects like the wedding sword, the dating spreadsheet, and the motorcycle are recurring symbols: of tradition, control, risk, and the journey toward love. The bus stop in the rain, a nod to romantic tropes, becomes the site of true vulnerability and commitment.

Foreshadowing and Narrative Structure

The narrative structure mirrors Daisy's journey: from chaos (the opening conference) to the illusion of order (the dating plan), to the acceptance of life's unpredictability (the final, unscripted proposal). Foreshadowing is used throughout—references to broken beds, family secrets, and the dangers of control—culminating in the realization that love cannot be planned.

Analysis

The Dating Plan is a witty, heartfelt exploration of what it means to love and be loved in a world shaped by family, culture, and personal history. Through the lens of a fake relationship, Sara Desai examines the ways we protect ourselves from pain—through logic, humor, achievement, or withdrawal—and the risks we must take to find real connection. The novel celebrates the messiness of love, the importance of community, and the courage required to break old patterns and choose happiness. Its lessons are clear: True love is not about perfection or planning, but about showing up, being vulnerable, and embracing both the chaos and the beauty of life. In a world obsessed with quantifiable results, The Dating Plan reminds us that the best things—love, forgiveness, family—cannot be scheduled, but must be lived, one imperfect, glorious day at a time.

Last updated: May 18, 2025