Conrad doesn't often go and see his parents. Every time he and his wife are visiting them, they are subjected to endless criticism from his father Carl. But during this year's obligatory birthday visit at home, Conrad's mother has a surprise for them: She is going to leave Carl after their marriage of 40 years. And she asks Conrad to keep an eye on his father and make sure he is all right. Carl, alone now in the big house, drowns his sorrows in alcohol, and one day he injures himself so badly in a domestic accident that Conrad and his young son have to move in with him for a while and care for him. But life is not easy when three generations of men have to live together under one roof.

During a secretive business trip away, Mark learns that his wife Anna is growing restless in what he believed was their happy marriage. Upon his return home, he learns from her that she wants a divorce. They both go through a series of different emotions related to their situation, Mark's which is generally obsessive about learning why Anna, who he still loves, wants the divorce, and Anna's which is generally increasingly histrionic in getting away from Mark. Caught in the middle is their infant son Bob, who Mark uses as a gage to Anna's mental state. Anna states that her want for the divorce is not because of another man, but Mark finds out that Anna has a lover named Heinrich. In the meantime, Mark also meets Bob's teacher Helen, who looks exactly like Anna, but is her polar opposite in temperament. Starting a relationship with Helen lessens his obsession with Anna. But as Mark and Anna's encounters together reach more emotional and violent levels, Mark, with help of a private ... Written by Huggo