A young American woman, Marcia, the wife of Jerome Talbot, a famous scientist in the field of nuclear physics working in Japan, has been confidently awaiting his invitation to join him for a long time. But instead she receives his letter asking for a divorce. Indignant and alarmed, she and her seven-year-old daughter immediately fly to her husband in Kyoto, hoping to save their marriage. When she arrived, she discovered that half of Jerome’s house was occupied by a Japanese family who treated her extremely unkindly. Jerome forbids Marcia to communicate with them, and yet she cannot help but see that he is mysteriously at their disposal. And Jerome himself treats his wife with coldness and indifference. And yet, behind his causticity, Marcia sees that he is deeply suffering, that he is tormented by some problems...