Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson star in this psychological drama adapted from the novel by Thomas Wiseman. Whilst suffering with writer's block, successful novelist Lewis Fielding (Caine) suspects his discontented wife Elizabeth (Jackson), who is holidaying alone in Baden Baden, of having an affair. Frustrated with her husband's jealousy and attempts to manipulate her, Elizabeth confirms Lewis's suspicions and embarks on a steamy affair with handsome young German Thomas (Helmut Berger), who claims to be a poet but is in fact a drug dealer. Fact and fiction grow evermore entwined when, after Elizabeth's return to England, Lewis invites Thomas into his home to ask for his thoughts on the screenplay he is trying to write. It isn't long before Thomas is not only Lewis's technical advisor but also an integral part of the plot...