 A Jewish doctor, Daniel Hirsh (Peter Finch) and a middle-aged woman, Alex Greville (Glenda Jackson) are both having affairs with the same male artist, Bob Elkin (Murray Head). Not only are Hirsh and Greville aware that Elkin is seeing the other but they actually know each other as well. Despite this, they are willing to put up with the situation through fear of losing Elkin who switches freely between them. Schlesinger s film highlights some worrying facts about how much people s attitudes to relationships and each other have changed over just two generations.