Dante Fontana is an antique dealer from Perugia infatuated with the culture of the British upper classes. His wife and relatives mock him and snub him, seeing him as a silly daydreamer doing no serious work. Unfussed, Dante plans a vacation to London to learn more about the culture he so admires. However, once in London, he struggles to fit in, is awkward, often makes mistakes betraying his Italian origins, attracting the scorn of the British upper classes he would like to impress.

It's 1865, Fiodor in St, Petersburg is reluctantly supporting his dead wife's family, when he meets new love in the form of Anna and a new life beckons escaping away and traveling Europe.