Claire, a modest proofreader for a Parisian publishing house, sincerely believes that she is a failure. She failed to become either a writer or a translator, and the man she loved abandoned her. But one day, a new tenant appears in the house where Claire lives, Monsieur Ishida. He neighborly invites Claire for a cup of tea, and she agrees, not yet realizing that her dreary but calm existence is coming to an end, and a dizzying whirlpool of adventures lies ahead.