Days that are going to change your life should come with a warning attached. JAMES HARFORD, an ex-pat Brit now living in Australia, has it all—high-flying job, beautiful wife, two perfect kids and the dream house—but it's not enough. He’s under pressure at work, guilt ridden after an affair, and the big four-oh’s approaching.
With the children starting school, his wife SAL is tethered to the home. Her days are beginning to drag. An ex-model and PR consultant, a party girl, she yearns for adult contact. She’s jealous of friends whose existences seem so glamorous.
The fateful day starts normally enough. James and Sal take time out, enjoying a sultry Sydney afternoon. But later they pick up a charming stranger in a strip club and one thing leads to the other. Yes, that other.
That night changes everything.
Mid-life crisis meets free-love and nobody’s satisfied. Sal indulges in a smorgasbord of men. James plays along—his first wife left him and he fears losing another—but a series of unsatisfactory encounters ensue. He throws himself into work in an attempt to push his problems aside, but it’s futile. In an outburst of anger, he pleads for Sal to stop. She says she can’t.
Then DANNY, the stranger from the strip club, calls. He has a new girlfriend, HELEN, and would like them all to meet. The four of them spend more and more time together, outside the bedroom as well inside. What starts with sex, turns into an all consuming friendship. James and Helen travel together to Perth on business. They make love and share intimacies. James returns to Sydney talking of polyamory: one love shared by many.
Gnawing jealousy eats away at Sal. She warns James not to forget she’s his number one. For a while they curb their urges, though cravings trouble both of them. Then they drift back into the bacchanalian lifestyle, but avoiding Danny and Helen, until Sal—missing Danny—tries to rekindle the friendship. But while Sal is away, Helen invites James for dinner and the night ends in sex. Sal finds out, takes the kids and leaves.
She throws herself into study and exercise and begins to see a psychologist, healing mind and body. Friends and lovers support her, but she still feels unsatisfied. Faced with the loss of his wife and children, James questions his priorities. He begs Sal to take him back and promises she can do whatever she wants, if only she’ll come home. They reunite, but they’re both still hurting. When Danny invites them to a swingers’ party James says yes, desperate to please Sal and thinking this is what she wants. But afterwards, feeling empty, he decides, no more: time to hang up his boots. He hopes Sal will make the same choices, but knows he can’t choose for her. When she asks to swap with Danny and Helen again, he refuses.
At his fortieth birthday party, James—having left his job and gone freelance to spend more time with the family—declares his love for Sal and announces that he’s looking forward to the second half of his life, with her. As he talks, Sal is contemplating whether or not her appetites will ever be sated. The night ends with James and Sal dancing on the deck. Danny and Helen stand in the shadows, tapping their feet.
With the children starting school, his wife SAL is tethered to the home. Her days are beginning to drag. An ex-model and PR consultant, a party girl, she yearns for adult contact. She’s jealous of friends whose existences seem so glamorous.
The fateful day starts normally enough. James and Sal take time out, enjoying a sultry Sydney afternoon. But later they pick up a charming stranger in a strip club and one thing leads to the other. Yes, that other.
That night changes everything.
Mid-life crisis meets free-love and nobody’s satisfied. Sal indulges in a smorgasbord of men. James plays along—his first wife left him and he fears losing another—but a series of unsatisfactory encounters ensue. He throws himself into work in an attempt to push his problems aside, but it’s futile. In an outburst of anger, he pleads for Sal to stop. She says she can’t.
Then DANNY, the stranger from the strip club, calls. He has a new girlfriend, HELEN, and would like them all to meet. The four of them spend more and more time together, outside the bedroom as well inside. What starts with sex, turns into an all consuming friendship. James and Helen travel together to Perth on business. They make love and share intimacies. James returns to Sydney talking of polyamory: one love shared by many.
Gnawing jealousy eats away at Sal. She warns James not to forget she’s his number one. For a while they curb their urges, though cravings trouble both of them. Then they drift back into the bacchanalian lifestyle, but avoiding Danny and Helen, until Sal—missing Danny—tries to rekindle the friendship. But while Sal is away, Helen invites James for dinner and the night ends in sex. Sal finds out, takes the kids and leaves.
She throws herself into study and exercise and begins to see a psychologist, healing mind and body. Friends and lovers support her, but she still feels unsatisfied. Faced with the loss of his wife and children, James questions his priorities. He begs Sal to take him back and promises she can do whatever she wants, if only she’ll come home. They reunite, but they’re both still hurting. When Danny invites them to a swingers’ party James says yes, desperate to please Sal and thinking this is what she wants. But afterwards, feeling empty, he decides, no more: time to hang up his boots. He hopes Sal will make the same choices, but knows he can’t choose for her. When she asks to swap with Danny and Helen again, he refuses.
At his fortieth birthday party, James—having left his job and gone freelance to spend more time with the family—declares his love for Sal and announces that he’s looking forward to the second half of his life, with her. As he talks, Sal is contemplating whether or not her appetites will ever be sated. The night ends with James and Sal dancing on the deck. Danny and Helen stand in the shadows, tapping their feet.