David (Dan Futterman) is a language expert who knows how to say "I Love You" in fifteen different languages. But he can't seem to bring himself to say it in plain English to his girlfriend of the past two years, Kathy (Susan Floyd), and that's putting their relationship in jeopardy in the romantic drama Breathing Room. Kathy and David have been having a hard time deciding if they should break up or try to work things out between them when, as he joins Kathy for Thanksgiving dinner with her family, she discovers David has applied for a job teaching English at a school in Vietnam. Careerwise, it would be a significant step for David, but Kathy is a bit miffed that he never saw fit to mention it to her before. Meanwhile, Kathy has her own professional dilemmas to deal with as she tries to kick-start her career as an animator. Eventually they decide to take a break from each other until Christmas, with no clear idea of just what they'll do after that.