Autumn, 1939: newlyweds Guy and Harriet Pringle arrive in Bucharest, a city alive with growing uncertainty at the threat of impending war. Guy, resuming his position as a lecturer at the university, throws himself into Bucharest life, embracing those around him. Harriet, struggling to adjust to married life, and to her husband's friendship with the over-attentive Sophie, finds herself isolated and lonely in her new surroundings, cut off from the outside world.