Helen and Nicky have been living together for the last eight months and Nick has invited her to visit his family back home in Cyprus. Both of them were in London on a scuba diving course, where Nick was an instructor and Helen his student. They now want to get married, and Helen is visiting a Greek family for the first time, and is anxious about her lack of language and cultural knowledge, and the fact that Nick’s family may be disappointed in his not having chosen someone from their own culture. When they visit, she is surprised and relieved to find his family are warm and welcoming and that her modest Greek is appreciated. She is less well prepared for the separate bedrooms they are given, and to the changes she perceives in Nick when he is with his older male relatives. After two weeks, she begins to wonder if this is the same man she met and fell in love with, and whether their shared love of diving and their friends in London will prove enough of a foundation for lifetime partnership and children. Both of them are aware of these changes, and decide that the best opportunity for discussing them is back in the UK, which leaves their wedding plans on hold without his parents’ knowledge. On return to London, they are reconciled in intimacy, but Nick becomes suspicious of Helen’s reserve, and expresses resentment at the many accomodations he has made to English culture since coming to England. They seek help from their shared friends, and are advised to get professional help to work out if their differences are insurmountable.

In therapy, each is given time to reflect on what brings them together, and what seperates them. Helen concedes early on that she has little sympathy or understanding of Greek culture, and thinks of Cyprus as a holiday destination more than a future home. For his part Nick concedes that he left Cyprus because he felt more at home in the UK, but he has been hurt and dismayed by Helen’s criticisms of his manner when he is with his family, and he does not expect any part of that to change. Both of them agree that they want to live in London, and raise any children they have in England. Helen agrees that any children would be taught to speak Greek, and raised in the Orthodox Church (a major concession). Furthermore she agrees to improve her Greek language, and visits Greece later that year with Nick on a scuba dive. . The marriage plans continue, and both work on issues around money, decision making, and autonomy.