A fastidious and wholesome history teacher named Kate (Ryan) is living in Canada with her fiancé, Charlie (Timothy Hutton), a dentist. While waiting for her Canadian citizenship to come through, Kate has been busy planning their wedding and the purchase of their first house, complete with a white picket fence. When Charlie urges her to accompany him to Paris for an upcoming conference, she declines due to her fear of flying and her general intolerance for cheese, secondhand smoke, and the French.