American bachelor Miles Drummond, living in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and running out of money, half-heartedly places an ad in a few US newspapers announcing a summer art workshop. Much to his surprise, thirteen students write for details, and arrive in Cuernavaca a few weeks later.

The hotel Miles has rented is crumbling. The VW bus he borrowed is a disaster. The two instructors he hired hate each other on sight. But the students - young and old, single and married, rich and poor - aren't simply looking for an education. Some are fleeing private anguish. Others are seeking romance. All will find more adventure than they ever dreamed possible.