Several couples break up or hook up in this romantic comedy set in present-day Rio de Janeiro, with encounters far exceeding breakups, to a soundtrack of Tom Jobim's bossa nova classics. It is in this idyllic but difficult landscape for lonely hearts that nine characters cross each other's paths and destinies, unleashing new passions. At the epicenter is an attractive English teacher, Mary Ann (Amy Irving), a widow living in Rio since the death of her husband two years before. Pedro Paulo (Antonio Fagundes) is a struggling Brazilian lawyer whose wife has moved in with her tai chi teacher, and whose father, a tailor, is in danger of losing his business in a divorce settlement. Alone and unhappy, Mary Ann and Pedro have nearly given up hope of finding their lifelong soul mate, until an elevator intervenes.
