Edinburgh 1977. The end of an era. The end of the postwar boom. The end of the sexual revolution. But for Saul and Catherine, postgraduate students meeting at a departmental party at the university, it seems like a beginning of sorts. Their attraction to one another is instantaneous, and the affair that follows at first seems all-absorbing - a heady mix of sexual desire and literary passions. But then the arrival of Saul's wife, Virginia, from New York, introduces darker notes of guilt and doubt, as the lovers find themselves increasingly enmeshed in their clandestine liaison. As the months pass, and tensions are stretched to breaking-point, it becomes clear that hard choices will have to be made. Other, real life, concerns must take precedence over those of romantic love - but at what a cost?