An aging director named Bergman conjures in his imagination the central character, Marianne. Over a period of days, on his secluded Fårö refuge in the Baltic Sea, he interviews her to compose the story of her life-changing affair. She had been happily married to Markus, an orchestra conductor, with a young daughter Isabelle. She suddenly falls in love with their best friend David. They have an extended interlude in Paris and then must deal with the ramifications. The style of the film is very cerebral, abstract, and ambiguous.