Set against the vibrant backdrop of Rio de Janeiro, a group of expatriates navigate personal fulfillment and social dynamics. William (Bill Pullman), an eccentric new U.S. ambassador to Brazil, slips away from his security detail to wander through a local favela alongside a tour guide, Fish (Fisher Stevens). Charlotte (Charlotte Rampling), a British plastic surgeon, travels through local clinics trying to convince people that they do not need cosmetic procedures to be happy. Meanwhile, Irène (Irène Jacob), a French filmmaker, arrives with her husband Antoine (Jean-Marc Roulot) to shoot an anthropological documentary on domestic workers, but her priorities shift as personal and romantic entanglements intervene.