In 1977, after a divorce, director David Howard leaves his family in London and travels to Stockholm. Meeting his friend Markus Vogler, his wife Marianne and their daughter Isabelle, he can't help but compare his situation to his friend's happy life.

David is shaken by the news that Marianne has been admitted to Backa after a suicide attempt. This leads to a meeting that brings back memories and forces them both to confront the past.

In 1978, the filming of the erotic film Susanna brings David and Marianne closer to each other. But during the filming, Isabelle happens to witness something that was not meant for her eyes.

After Marianne disappears, David visits a grown-up Isabelle in his search for Marianne; in 1978, the Vogler family gets upset at the screening of the explicit film.

In 1979, after a fallout, David and Marianne begin working together, reigniting their affair. At Isabelle's birthday party, they struggle to stay apart, and soon the consequences of their affair catch up with them.

In 1980, Marianne and Markus are divorcing and trying to agree on the custody of Isabelle; in the present, David and Marianne talk about their past.