Kyoko is a university librarian and she also helps her parents with their drycleaning company. She is involved with a childhood friend from the neighborhood, Kota. He is the son of the local tofu maker and has begun a moderately successful career as a stand-up comedian. A visiting lecturer from Tokyo falls head-over-heels in love with Kyoko and asks her to go abroad with him to Beijing, where he has to spend the next few years for his research. But Kyoko cannot decide.—patriot