After her cheating fiancé dumps her a few days before their wedding, Rose Millstone applies for an English teaching job in Japan, taking her as far away from the scandal as possible.
Urban Tokyo in the 1980s couldn't be any more different from rural Nebraska, and there, an exciting new life begins. Still, Rose knows these adventures are temporary, and after two years, she starts making plans to go home.
But then, she's assigned a new adult class to teach, having no idea how much this group of students will come to mean to her—in particular, Akira Kato, a young widower. Despite Rose's growing feelings for Akira, there's no denying the fact that his life is sticky—the super glue kind of sticky. Not only does he have two young daughters, but his dead wife's mother lives with them! And a commitment to Akira would also mean a commitment to Japan. Rose isn't sure if she's prepared to do that, to stay in Japan forever. When a catastrophe occurs, however, Rose must decide what's most important and what she really wants in life, especially when it comes to friends, family, and most of all, love.