It is 1962 and Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini) lives with his wife Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain) in the Paris apartment that has been occupied by his family for three generations. In a dispute, their maid Germaine (Michele Gleizer) walks out on them leaving the place in chaos. They hire Marie (Natalia Verbeke), the niece of Conception (Carmen Maura), who lives upstairs in the same building with a group of other domestics from Spain. Many of them have fled from the repressive and violent measures of Franco. The service that seals the deal for Jean-Louis is that Maria cooks his breakfast boiled egg just right and gives him an immense boost before he heads off to work as a stockbroker.

Although he is the boss who has the power and usually get what he wants, this beautiful maid throws him for a loop. He just can't get her out of his mind. And when she holds his throat in a scene when she is trying to teach him some difficult Spanish words, he flips and goes around the bend. Going upstairs to see Maria's room, he learns that the toilet needs to be fixed. He pays for it, allows another maid to use his phone to make a long-distance call, and even sets up a deal for one of the group to move to an apartment. His many kindnesses are appreciated by the Spanish women who relax with music, songs, and peals of laughter. But they know in their hearts that he will always be a "boss" who sees himself as superior to them. When he thinks Maria is flirting with another man, he reverts to his old pattern of being a benevolent dictator.

This fresh and light-hearted French comedy is directed by Philippe Le Guay who also makes some cogent observations about class, money, power, and love. At one point after leaving Suzanne, Jean-Louis revels in the chance to reside in a small room on the 6th floor. He goes gaga over all things Spanish and no longer has a shred of interest in his job in finance. Fabrice Lucchini is perfectly cast as a middle-ager whose desire carries him away from the middle-class world he has known since childhood. And Natalia Verbeke is alluring as Maria, a young woman with a secret from her past that she must deal with. This is the kind of unusual romantic comedy that lingers in the consciousness like an exotic perfume hangs in the air of a room.