Tita is passionately in love with Pedro, but her controlling mother forbids her from marrying him. When Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares, infecting all who eat it with her intense heartbreak.

World War II vet Paul Sutton falls for a pregnant and unwed woman who persuades him — during their first encounter — to pose as her husband so she can face her family.