Come September

Robert Talbot, a wealthy American businessman, owns a villa on the Ligurian coast where he spends a month each September with his Roman lover, Lisa Fellini. Lisa is preparing to marry her fiancé Spencer but struggles to break away from her affair with Robert. Their annual affair is central to the beginning of the story.

In July, Robert calls Lisa for an impromptu meeting, which causes her to lose her resolve about marrying Spencer. She cancels her wedding plans and rushes to meet Robert, rekindling their affair ahead of their usual September reunion.

Robert’s majordomo Maurice Clavell has converted the villa into a luxury hotel that operates mainly during the off-season, specifically hosting a group of college girls and guests. The hotel is shut down in September, but Maurice keeps it running secretly, juggling Robert’s visits and the guests’ stay.

On his way to the villa, Robert meets college boys led by Tony, who mock his age and style. They are denied reservations and set up camp outside. Maurice lies to Robert, claiming the guests are stranded tourists, and fabricates a story that Robert is a shell-shocked veteran suffering delusions of ownership.

The hotel guests arrive, and Maurice’s deception is maintained. However, Margaret, one of the guests, slips on a champagne cork and is hospitalized, delaying the departure of the guests and complicating Maurice’s plans.

Sandy, a psychology major, tries to treat Robert’s delusion, explaining that he no longer owns the hotel. Robert restrains himself from firing Maurice, influenced by Lisa and Maurice’s efforts to justify his actions, as Maurice claims to have maintained the villa with personal sacrifice.

Concerned about the college boys’ drunken partying and potential predatory behavior, Robert escorts Lisa and the girls on a long bicycle sightseeing tour. His goal is to exhaust their energy and promote virtue through a lively outdoor activity.

At a nightclub, Robert dances with each girl, emphasizing respect and virtuous behavior. A drunken Tony attempts a romantic advance on Sandy, which leads to a confrontation and highlights the tensions between the characters.

Feeling her virtue has lapsed and realizing her desire for Robert, Lisa departs early in the morning to reunite with him, leaving her wedding plans behind to pursue love with Robert.

Robert, misunderstood during a car theft driven by Maurice, chases after Lisa in an attempt to reconcile. He proposes marriage to her, but she rejects him due to his lack of enthusiasm, and she flees.

Maurice falsely reports Robert as a criminal and Lisa as his accomplice to the police, hoping to keep them detained together. However, the plan backfires, and the couple remains separated.

Back at her apartment, Lisa, wearing her wedding gown, has an epiphany about her life choices. She decides to reunite with Robert, recognizing what she truly desires in life, and prepares to leave her wedding behind.

Lisa sees Robert in her wedding gown through the train window as she departs. Using quick wit, she borrows a toddler to persuade the conductor she’s abandoning her child, causing Robert to get off the train in a state of frustration.

Mollified by her daring ploy, Robert and Lisa reconcile and return together to the villa. They find it repurposed once again as a functioning hotel, now occupied by a group of nuns, symbolizing a new chapter in their relationship.