Olive Smith, a third-year Biology PhD candidate at Stanford, pretends to be in a serious relationship with her nemesis, professor Adam Carlsen, as a favor to her best friend Anh. She wants Anh to finally be able to ask out Olive’s ex, Jeremy, under the impression that Olive is over him. But once Adam agrees to go al…
Major plot points
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Olive kisses Adam impulsively in the lab to support Anh’s belief that she’s moved on from Jeremy. Adam agrees to be her “fake boyfriend” to preserve his professional reputation at Stanford, where he’s under pressure for perceived instability.
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As the fake relationship continues—with staged outings and shared appearances—Olive begins to see facets of Adam beyond the intimidating professor image. Meanwhile, she’s pursuing crucial research on pancreatic cancer, a cause personal to her since her mother's death.
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At a major science conference in Boston, Olive’s paper is accepted, but she overhears people implying she only got the opportunity through her relationship with Adam. Also present: Tom Benton, a Harvard professor Olive hopes will help her lab work. After her presentation, Tom harasses Olive, hinting that her employment offer will come with “conditions.”
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Olive withdraws from Adam after the harassment incident, believing she’s protecting both him and her integrity. Adam, initially silent, is unaware of the full extent of what she’s facing. Anh eventually tells him what happened. Adam publicly confronts Tom, supports Olive unapologetically, and confesses that his feelings for her are real.
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The “fake” relationship becomes very real when they both admit their love for one another. A two-year epilogue shows that Olive and Anh have earned their PhDs, own labs at Stanford, and that Olive is thriving professionally under the nickname “Dr. Smite”—a playful reference to Adam’s earlier intimidating reputation. The romantic and scientific arcs both reach fulfilling resolutions.
Differences between book & film
- In the movie, Anh realizes early on that Olive and Adam’s relationship is fake, whereas in the book it’s Malcolm who knows. - Harassment from Tom and how it’s exposed are handled differently; in the film, Adam confronts Tom without an accidental recording, whereas the book uses Olive’s recording of Tom’s behavior.
Olive and Adam end up together—with honesty, mutual respect, and full recognition of Olive’s scientific worth intact. The love hypothesis isn’t disproved; it’s reinforced.
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