Two guys get a billion dollars to make a movie, only to watch their dream run off course. In order to make the money back, they then attempt to revitalize a failing shopping mall.

Ilva runs her stepfather's Eden Palace cinema in wartime Paris against a background of Resistance activities, the frequent sight of less fortunate Parisians being shipped east in cattle-trains and, later, the impact of the D-Day landings. Over time a number of other lives intersect with hers, including a German officer and then two American servicemen. A post-war shooting comes to dominate her story along, perhaps surprisingly, with cinema itself.

Emily Jackson lives a fast-paced life. Always on the go, able to talk around the clock, with a sensitive soul she loves playing matchmaker for her friends. It's Emily's gay roommate and frequent companion Peter, who becomes again the subject matchmaking skills when handsome new photographer assistant Paolo arrives at the Vogue offices, where Emily works. She makes it her mission to bring the two men together. Unfortunately for her, she is so busy arranging a love connection between Peter and Paolo that she remains completely blind to the one suitor who longs to provide her with the loving companionship that she so cheerfully arranges for others. And so it does make sense that Peter, a screenwriter in the making, starts telling the story from his own point of view.