Cassandra Reilly [Judy Davis] is a lonely American woman who is scraping out a living as a translator in Barcelona. Throughout this extravagant comedy she, as the female lead, will find out that things are not always what they seem.

One day Cassandra's eccentric compatriot, Frankie Stevens [Marcia Gay Harden], visits her. Frankie is convinced her husband is hiding in Barcelona and needs someone to help her find him. She is prepared to pay and since Cassandra can't pass up the opportunity to make some easy money, she accepts Frankie's offer.

While Cassandra is trying to decipher Frankie's mysterious past, she becomes involved in a network of intrigue, treachery, mistaken identities, deceitful families and even a kidnapping.

Her search leads her to a part of Barcelona she was unacquainted with, an area full of contrasts wherein she crosses paths with the sensual April and the elusive Ben. The latter will eventually turn the quest into an adventure as enigmatic and complex as Gaudí's architecture itself.

Ben's search will help Cassandra confront her own past.