A young Swiss couple planning to take up a new life in Algeria sell all their possessions and bid a formal farewell to their friends. On the eve of their departure, a telegram puts the trip on indefinite hold. At first out of embarrassment, and then by design, they hole up in their empty apartment, making of it their own imaginary Africa, a place altogether different from their small Swiss city and stolid Swiss lives. They "return" several weeks later with a new relationship to each other and their future, embodying Jonah's counterculture in microcosm. "The deceptively simple story, as told by Tanner with a sure feel for atmosphere and a light touch, emerges as a near-perfect blend of serio-comic nuances and sharp observations." (Variety)