She thinks she's leaving home to improve her knowledge of Shakespeare's English while working as an au pair in a British household, but instead she's about to learn the ways of the world and become a woman.
Nadine goes to England to look after Lipsey and Peter, the two young children of Julie and James Johnson, an English couple in Groomsbridge. While there, she also meets a number of interesting Englishmen of different ages who appreciate her in varying ways consistent with their social class. One of them is Andrew Gibson, a handsome "sausage boy", who picks her up at a carnival. She quickly falls for him.
Gain new insights into World War II, assiduously recollected by a young German woman who lives abroad. As the reader watches her, she slowly, incessantly steps forth in The extemporaneous Existence of Nadine Tallemann until her development is forcibly interrupted.