A woman who is not content with life and fears staying in one place works as a traveling writer, recording her thoughts and interactions on tape recorders and finding different lovers in each place she visits.

An American writer travels to Sophia where he meets a famous poetess. He falls in love with her and her attitude.

An American vacationer in Italy slowly convinces a fellow American of the benefits of rejuvenation, chipping away at the man’s engrained business mindset until his wife objects.

A Chinese American woman living in contemporary Wisconsin plans out a vacation to England rather China, her usual destination. The thought of abandoning her home country takes her back to the more difficult moments of her life, from her estrangement from her parents to her failed marriage.

Just before an American college student is set to leave for the airport after visiting her extended family in Ethiopia, she realizes her suitcases are too heavy. A fight breaks out between her relatives about what items should travel with her at their behest, versus which ones deserve to be left behind.

When an officer in the State Department is sent to work as a diplomat for the CIA, he must balance the fate of other nations and politicians with his own interests and career goals.

While conducting research in the remote country of Keteng, a Stanford grad student hears that another American has entered the country and is challenging the power structures in place.

An American expat who lives in Rome struggles to understand his adopted country, especially the Italian language. When he finally finds the right teacher, he is overjoyed, but her unique personal life quickly pervades their lessons and confounds their rapport.

A judge in Texas tries to get the signature of an undocumented Mexican immigrant, who goes to great lengths to avoid doing so due to his fear of the American legal system.

A U.S state department official encounters an infatuation on his trip to Eastern Europe that ends in despair.