Eve got laid off on a Wednesday, jinxed the weather, and found a soaked orange-and-white cat by the recycling bins. He's round. He's injured. He looks like a dumpling that took a wrong turn in life. She names him Dumpling, maxes out a vet bill she can't really afford, and meets Julian: a dry, unfairly good-looking veterinarian who is gentler with animals than with people. He doesn't do pep talks. He does, apparently, do payment plans. Then the weird part starts. Dumpling can hear the loud thoughts people try to hide. He swats away the coworker who wants to dump blame on her. He yawns at the guy selling a dream. He sits on the trash can when a man is wasting her time. And every time Eve gets close to another bad decision, the cat gets there first. With Dumpling's extremely unsubtle help, she and Julian start a pet account, then a little shop called You, Me & Paws. It's chaotic. It's sweet.