NICK'S CHARACTER:

Matthew's desire is to be with Natasha for all of eternity and beyond. He is a Buddhist, a Romantic - and more than a little insecure. He has given up his career as a travel writer in order to provide a nurturing haven for Natasha. This seemingly selfless act is subconsciously motivated by the insecure sense that if he is not beside her for every breathing moment, he will lose her. Gnawing into this subconscious is a recent job offer that not only tempts him, but also reminds him of what life was like when he actually had a career.

Sacrificing all for love is a fine dream but an uncomfortable reality. Running a rustic B & B may sound romantic, but eking out a living in the wilds can give you cabin fever, which is what Matthew is experiencing in every aspect of his life. He is so self-absorbed, that he has almost forgotten that there is a world outside of his own, particularly one that he once frequented. 

MOVIE SUMMARY:

April and Tong share a marriage that is being torn apart by distance, and by divergent aspirations. Three years ago, April's driving ambitions led her to an opportunity to set up home in Canada. Every Hong Konger's dream? Perhaps not. Tong languished in Hong Kong, promising to follow but secretly biding his time, hazily expecting April to return - defeated. Unfortunately, April has no such intention. While Tong truly loves his wife, his own unrealized dream of being a successful singer/songwriter seems insurmountable even in Hong Kong and he fears its complete extinction in this foreign land called Canada. 

After three long lonely years, the waiting game comes to an end when Tong's immigration papers are scheduled to expire. April hammers home the point by sending Tong a letter bomb: her wedding ring. It is followed by an ultimatum to land in Canada or keep the ring forever. To further provoke her husband into action, April leads him to believe that she is having an affair with a Caucasian man.

As April, a public relations specialist, goes over the plans of a promotional tour to Banff for a client, she shares the details of her troubled marriage with her assistant Cora. Moments later, Cora answers a telephone call from Tong and mischievously feeds his insecurities by telling him that April is having lunch with Charles. Assuming that Charles is his wife's new lover, Tong catches the next flight to Vancouver. 

Tong lands, and finds Canada all he feared it would be. Faced with official indifference and the finality of staying for six months to effect his immigration, he opts for a short-stay visitor's permit. Tong has only three days to persuade his wife to return to Hong Kong, or reconcile his insecurities and sacrifice his dreams by moving to Canada.

April's big Banff promotion is in jeopardy: her client, Tom, rejects her event plans and the Celtic band she has booked for the big attraction loses their lead singer. Charles, who manages Finnegan's Take is forced to test out a replacement singer in a small town en route to Banff. April, who has serious misgivings about his competency, takes control and follows him.

Tong finally finds his way to April's apartment only to find out that she has gone to Banff on business. Disoriented, Tong boards a Banff-bound bus in pursuit, only to get off at a wrong stop, stranding himself in a small town with no vancancies. In the local bar he is introduced to Natasha, the owner of The Raven B&B, who offers him a room. Natasha is there to say hello to the feature band: Finnegan's Take. She used to be their lead singer - and Charles is hoping to woo her back to the microphone.At the same time, April checks into The Raven B&B where she meets Matthew. He's a former travel-writer who now co-runs the rundown Raven, along with his lover Natasha. Duty-bound, she heads off to the local bar to see Charles. April is comforted by the crowd's enthusiastic response to the singer: Natasha. Satisfied that all is well, she refuses a drink and heads back to the Raven, totally missing Tong in the crowd. With time on her hands she starts talking with Matthew. There is trouble in paradise - over hot coffee and cold chili, the perplexed Matthew starts opening up about the rifts in his relationship. Trying to fathom what makes women tick, he seeks insight from April, who herself finds the motivations of men equally baffling. Later that night April frets in bed unaware that Tong is tossing and turning on the couch below. 

In the room next door, Natasha tells Matthew that she is thinking of going on the road with Finnegan's Take. It is clear that they have grown very far apart. The desolate void in Natasha's life has nothing to do with Matthew; she needs time to be on her own to figure things out. Matthew, on the other hand just wants to cling closer. He's astounded that she could just walk away from their commitment to each other. The fight hits high gear and Natasha storms out into the night. Knowing she's Banff-bound, Tong hitches along.

The following morning, April projects her frustrations over Tong's seeming willingness to let her go, and urges Matthew to go after Natasha. What she hadn't bargained on was that he would take her advice immediately. Suddenly, she finds she has a passenger. Both swapped couples are on the road to Banff.

While Natasha and Tong attempt to sort out each other's woes, they take a healing diversion, stopping to skinny-dip with a mob of tree-planters. Barriers drop as quickly as do their clothes. Natasha's intuition reaches deep into Tong's psyche and she helps him confront his insecurities, giving him the courage to strive for more than dreaming. In turn, Tong's non-judgmental support helps Natasha talk through her dependencies. She realizes her deep need for time alone, something that she has always been too fearful to give herself.

Anxious about April's incessant phone calls while behind the wheel, Matthew struggles for her phone, causing April's car to crash into a ravine. They spend a long, cold night together, gazing at the stars, contemplating their lives. April challenges Matthew for giving up his career for love, conveniently forgetting that she is asking her husband to do that very thing. 

The next day, after a string of disasters and close calls while lost in the forest, including the total destruction of her car by an antique tourist steam train, April and Matthew straggle into civilization. Trying to clean up in a dismal small-town motel, and finally within reach of a phone again, April calls Cora. The news is devastating. Three days after her ultimatum, Tong has neither shown up, nor called. 

Heartsick, she turns to Matthew for comfort.

Meanwhile, Tong finally arrives in Banff. Instead of April, he finds Cora, who has successfully appeased their client Tom and fallen in love with him in the process. Cora is well meaning but her Cantonese is stilted. The message Tong gets is that his wife is with some guy in a hotel. 

Heartsick, he turns to Natasha for comfort. 

Cora calls April to let her know that Tong is in Banff. April, with Matthew again in tow, drives frantically to Banff, only to see Tong pulling away in a bus bound for Vancouver. Despite their growing closeness, Matthew urges April to chase Tong. 

Matthew arrives at the Finnegan's Take concert expecting to find Natasha. According to Charles, she quit. He runs to her van, but stops before she sees him. He watches in silence, as she drives away.

On a desolate moon-lit bridge, April and Tong are finally reunited. Both offer to compromise their careers and lives for the other. But somehow, their embrace holds a stronger truth, and their words fall flat.

Listening to their hearts, each of the four embarks on new journeys, different than any of them had imagined.