Mr. Burdoff moves to Cologne, Germany to explore a new culture. He takes a room in a boarding house overlooking a construction site. He excitedly scribbles postcards to his American friends, but soon the thrill of his new surroundings dwindles. Mr. Burdoff spends his days staring out of the window and chain-smoking while he nervously contemplates his shortcomings. For a distraction, he turns his attention toward a German-language class. Students are free to make mistakes as they learn, and he likes this easy atmosphere. There, Mr. Burdoff takes a particular interest in a delicate Hawaiian woman. This attraction fades when he meets a graceless beauty named Helen, who is another one of his classmates. On their first date, they sleep together in a park near a statue of Leopold Mozart, an eighteenth-century German composer. Mr. Burdoff shares his love of eighteenth-century classical music with Helen and they attend many orchestra performances together. In return, Helen takes him to nineteenth-century romantic concerts. Mr. Burdoff is surprised and perplexed at the unabashed sensuality of the music. Like the lush harmonies, Helen's unwieldy vibrancy will always be just outside the reach of his understanding. Unexpectedly, Helen’s child falls ill and she returns home to Norway. The lovers exchange letters, and Helen reveals that she intends to stay with her husband. Their communications peter off until they have nothing to say to each other at all. Months later, Mr. Burdoff finishes the German class and leaves for Paris. On the train ride, he thinks of Helen. She is thinking of him thousands of miles away at her child’s bedside.