A curious human from a well-ordered but loveless future, P-A-X-497/341 (aka Pax), played by Barry Watson, returns to the year 2011 to satisfy his curiosity about such archaic concepts as love, passion and winds up making his own discoveries when he meets the woman of his dreams, Elizabeth Barrett, portrayed by Sara Rue, a newly published romance novelist.

When Pax doesn't return to the future by the given deadline, Bob (Fred Willard), his fellow scientist, travels back in time to find Pax. Meanwhile as Elizabeth is helping Pax learn about love, she ends up confiding in her colleague, played by Valerie Harper, about her own upcoming "surprise" engagement.