The plot revolves around Ada Harris, who is so enchanted by her employer's haute couture wardrobe that she becomes determined to go to the House of Dior in Paris to purchase an evening gown of her own.

She achieves her goal with the assistance of a French marquis, whom she first meets at the House of Dior during an afternoon showing and who becomes a long-term friend as do a series of other characters revealed to have hidden hearts.

In Moscow, Mrs Harris wins a trip there and stumbles onto the Soviet Union's most embarrassing problem: it has bought a cargo of toilet paper that has had to be marked as birdseed.

A musical-theatre adaptation, Flowers for Mrs Harris, with book by Rachel Wagstaff and music and lyrics by Richard Taylor, was produced by Sheffield Theatres in May 2016, directed by Daniel Evans, having been originally commissioned by Vicky Graham Productions.

A new production was mounted at Chichester Festival Theatre in September 2018, again directed by Daniel Evans, starring Clare Burt once more as Mrs Harris, alongside Joanna Riding as Lady Dant/Madam Colbert, Claire Machin as Violet Butterfield, and Gary Wilmot as the Major/Monsieur Armand.