The lovers' room would always be theirs, and they would take it with them wherever they went. As the Allied forces occupy Japan at the end of World War II, an intense love affair develops between shy Australian Allen Spin Bowler, an interpreter in the British army, and Momoko, a western-educated, elegant young woman whose calmness and dignity veil the tiredness and defeat she has suffered. Under the spell of Momoko, Spin gradually sheds his shy bookish self. In the quiet sanctuary of Momoko's room, their love transcends the cultural boundaries that divide them. However, the betrayal that follows - of Spin's beliefs and of Momoko - has devastating consequences, forever changing the course of both their lives.