Arriving home after her father-in-law's funeral, Sophie Lee, Vera Farmiga, a Caucasian woman, and her husband Andrew, David Lee McInnis, a Korean-American, share an intimate moment on their kitchen table; Andrew breaks down in her arms shortly after. At the doctor's office, Sophie is told that her husband’s sperm isn’t healthy enough to get her pregnant, and she pleads with Dr. Hanson, Marceline Hugot to secretly give her someone else's sperm, though the doctor refuses.
Sophie is encouraged by Andrew’s family to pray for a baby, but when she asks Andrew how to pray, he says God can’t make her become pregnant. While waiting for an appointment at the clinic, Sophie witnesses an Asian man, Jihah Kim, Ha Jung-woo, arrive to make a donation. She listens outside the door during his doctor’s interview and learns that Jihah is an illegal alien and they cannot accept his sperm. When he storms out of the room, Sophie Follow-Sophie follows him to a dry cleaners in Chinatown, but she doesn’t have the courage to talk to him.
Following a party one night, Sophie awakens to find Andrew has attempted suicide. While he recovers in hospital, Sophie goes back to the laundromat. She follows Jihah to his building and waits outside his apartment. When he returns home, Sophie propositions him for sex; she offers Jihah $300 per session, and if they are successful in getting pregnant, an additional $30,000 in cash. He agrees, and the two begin to bond.
While working at the dry cleaners one day, Jihah notices Sophie outside and encounters Andrew who comes in to pick up his jacket. Before their next meeting, a dismissive Jihah takes Sophie out to eat, and says that he saw her husband. They argue after he notes his physical similarities to Andrew; Sophie retorts that all he’s good for is his penis. He follows her out into the street, where she breaks down and tells Jihah of Andrew’s suicidal tendencies because he is sterile. Jihah takes Sophie to a spot in the park where he prays.
For the first time, Sophie and Jihah become intimate during one of their sessions. When she arrives home, she tells Andrew that Dr. Hanson has new procedures they could attempt, but he says they should give up trying. Sophie then tells him that, before they were married, he got her pregnant but she had an abortion. Andrew walks away. The next morning, the two go to church, and Sophie faints. Meanwhile, Jihah is seen buying flowers and browsing for jewelry. Back at his apartment, Sophie arrives and tells him she’s pregnant, paying him the $30,000. Jihah offers his congratulations and the two part bittersweetly.
As Sophie and Andrew celebrate her pregnancy, Jihah goes through the laundromat’s receipts to find their address. The next day, Andrew and Sophie host a party, and Jihah shows up. Andrew goes to greet him, and Jihah says he must have the wrong address; he sneaks away to watch from a distance. As the group begin a prayer, Sophie fantasizes about Jihah.
Days later, Sophie visits Jihah at his apartment and the two become intimate once again. She and Andrew then find out that the baby is a boy. Later that day, Sophie’s cab is late when she attempts to go to Jihah’s, so she catches the train instead. Meanwhile, Andrew arrives home early and answers the door to the delayed taxi driver. Andrew drives to Jihah’s address and overhears Sophie with him from outside the door. Jihah gives Sophie a key to his apartment. While Sophie is there one day, police show up and detain Jihah for his illegal residence in the United States.
When Sophie returns home, Andrew informs her that he knows about her affair. He asks that she abort the child so that he can forgive her, to which she adamantly refuses. Andrew restrains Sophie and attempts to drag her upstairs; she screams and begs for him to let her go until he releases her. Jihah is told by authorities that he will be deported the next morning; while being held, he requests to make a phone call. Sophie goes to Jihah’s spot in the park to pray. She then goes to Jihah’s apartment, where she answers a ringing cellphone. A few years later, a visibly pregnant Sophie is seen on the beach with her son. While he plays in the water, Sophie watches and knits for the new baby.
