The narrative follows an American housewife and a North African woman who travel from Chicago to Santa Fe to participate in a bellydance competition.

[2] The film depicts a few days in the lives of two women, Marilyn (Sienna Rose Miller) and Mona (Golshifteh Farahani) who, on the outside, could not be more different.

Mona is an Egyptian immigrant who manages the convenience store next door with her mother-in-law (Chafia Boudraa) and her husband, Mourad (Roschdy Zem).

Feeling jealous and emasculated, he criticizes her taking part in a belly-dancing class (believing that she is too old) and uses her money to spend his nights drinking at bars.

While on the journey, the women bond as they realize that although they come from vastly different cultures, they share a like-mind and a desire to be free from the upsets of the past.

Marilyn defends her heatedly and the woman retaliates by having her husband and son assault her, breaking her arm and dashing her hopes of performing.

Quelled by this latest disaster, Mona calls Mourad, who has been sitting on the front lawn for days awaiting her return.

He promises her a new start in a different city where they can adopt children, but Mona sees the fallacy of a life in which her mother-in-law's death will always cast a shadow on their marriage.

Mayte Garcia who is best known for being the ex-wife of legendary rock superstar Prince was first offered the role of Marilyn as well as to choreograph the belly dancing sequences in the film but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts with the show Hollywood Exes.