爱丽斯(凯特•温斯莱特 Kate Winslet饰)住在英国伦敦的乡村，而阿曼达(卡梅隆•迪亚兹 Cameron Diaz饰)则是洛杉矶的美国丽人。她们在天南地北的两端，却遇上了同样的问题：在感情上遭受了挫败，令生活灰暗无光。二人在网上聊天，商议在圣诞节到来之前，到对方的环境去生活，交互双方的住所作为度假场地。于是，一场令人兴奋的旅行开始了。爱丽斯来到美国大都市，阿曼达则乘班机前往极具英伦情调的英国乡村。除了新鲜的生活环境，当地男生的魅力更让她们猝不及防。In London, Iris Simpkins writes a wedding column in a newspaper and nurtures an unrequited love for her colleague Jasper Bloom. Near Christmas, she is informed that Jasper is engaged to marry another colleague, and her life turns upside down. In Los Angeles, the movie-trailers maker Amanda Woods has just split with her unfaithful boyfriend Ethan and wants to forget him. Through a house exchange website, Amanda impulsively swaps her mansion for Iris' cottage in Surrey for the holidays. While in Surrey, Amanda meets Iris' brother and book editor Graham and they fall in love with each other. Meanwhile, Iris meets her new next door neighbor the ninety year old screenplay writer Arthur, who helps her retrieve her self-esteem, and the film composer Miles, with whom she falls in love.