Japanese girl, is unsure about the prospect of marrying her boyfriend, Hiroshi. She wants more experience of travel and goes to England, to improve her English, promising Hiroshi she’ll marry him when she returns. Life abroad is daunting at first, as she notes in her diary, but she settles into the new routine. At the student hostel, she goes to the photography club, where she meets Zambian photographer, Bernard Chiluba, whose work she admires. Later, she has a chance encounter with Bernard, who shows her round the city. There is a mutual attraction. Bernard realises she plans to marry, but Ikuko is now unsettled – he
is so different from Hiroshi. Soon, Lucretia, a fellow student, suspects they are more than friends.
Ikuko goes on a photo club trip to the countryside with Bernard. While returning, a van crashes into the minibus. The driver is hurt but Bernard saves Ikuko from injury. Back at the hostel, after the traumatic events, Ikuko is upset. Bernard comforts her, and they end up spending the night together. In the morning, they have to talk. Neither regrets what has happened, but Bernard reveals he is a single parent, with two children, and Ikuko tells him about Hiroshi. Ikuko is confused about the future, and later confesses all to Hiroshi, who is hurt.