Wilson Streeter, a divorced government statistician and American, lives alone in Rome. Somehow, he feels, he needs to learn Italian to learn Italy. To that end, he's spent years trying in vain to find the right teacher. Classes were too large. Some teachers were ineffective, some prattled on about their personal lives, and some off-loaded their problems onto him. But finally, he finds Kate Dresser. Kate moved to Rome from the small town of Krasbie, Iowa, with her son and husband, who died of food poisoning soon afterward. Her only solace from childhood bullying had been the town movie theater, which had a giant view of a Roman garden on its curtain. She and Charlie, her son, live in a corner of an old palace, which she affords by allowing a duke and his friends to use her elevator and pass through the apartment with impunity. Charlie, for his part, lives like an American, even though he has never seen the country. But he doesn't just want to live like an American — he wants to be one. So he invites his great uncle, George, to come to Italy. He hopes George will bring him and his mother back to Iowa with him. George speaks no Italian, and his travails are severe, ranging from awkward breakfast orders to robberies at knifepoint. When George finally reaches Kate and Charlie, Wilson Streeter is sitting in an armchair off to the side — Kate asked him to come for her sake. An argument about Charlie's fate, homesickness, and whether any of them understands Italy quickly ensues, featuring lots of xenophobia on George's part, but the end result is that Charlie will leave with his great-uncle. Streeter leaves the room, and life goes on.