In pursuit of her dream to become a famous artist, Emily Ann Wright lost her virginity and was accused of being gay - and that was only on the ship going to Europe. She took a secretarial job with Army Special Services in post WWII Occupied Germany as a means to get to Paris where she knew all artists had to live as a prerequisite for fame.
Emily's assignment in Bad Nauheim, a pre-war spa town, as secretary to the head of Special Services Intelligence is secure as long as her mother sends cookies. Terry, her cockney roommate saves Emily from herself by getting her to work on her first day with the Colonel.
Throughout her sexcapades in Germany and Paris, Emily tries to apply the old sayings her mother taught her. She thinks she has escaped her mother's words but keeps hearing them in her head. She is rapidly acquiring the sex education her mother wouldn't allow - and some things her mother never dreamed of - including the use of a bidet. Emily's job at the Marshall Plan is courtesy of an introduction to the right person by her ex-roomy. Terry saves her again.
There are complications along the way from which Terry can't save her such as contracting a sexual disease from Aaron and learning how a prostitute advertises her services. Emily is learning the hard way to make her own decisions without the help of the mother in her head.