The film follows Mozhdeh and Morteza Samiei as they wake to a tense morning, preparing for a planned vacation to Dubai just after Chaharshanbe Suri, the festive night that kicks off Nowruz. To help with the apartment, they hire a new maid through an agency: Rouhi, a bride-to-be who Mozhdeh initially insists they don’t need. The pair’s strain is palpable from the start, and the presence of a temporary helper only heightens the friction.
While Rouhi goes about her cleaning, she gradually pieces together the rift between the couple. Mozhdeh suspects that Simin, their divorced neighbor, is involved with Morteza after she spots Simin’s number in the logs. Simin, meanwhile, is using the Samiei apartment as a makeshift beauty salon, a setup that fuels the neighbors’ suspicions about her status. When Morteza announces he won’t be home until 5 PM, Mozhdeh tasks Rouhi with asking Simin if she’ll also be unavailable until five, and the truth is confirmed in Simin’s reply.
Simin has a moment to trim Rouhi’s eyebrows, and it’s there that Rouhi overhears that Simin knows exactly when the Samiei plan to depart for Dubai. A landlord visit arrives shortly after, informing Simin that the apartment is on the market. Rouhi deftly plays the part of Simin’s niece to defuse the confrontation. Back at the apartment, Mozhdeh seizes Rouhi’s chador to spy on Morteza, forcing Rouhi to take the Samiei’s son, Amirali, home from school. When Morteza learns of the spying, he publicly lashes out at Mozhdeh, and the tension escalates to a breaking point.
Fed up, Mozhdeh decides to move in with her sister and brother-in-law, taking Amirali with her and leaving Morteza’s apologies unheard. To ease the situation, Rouhi fabricates a reason for Simin’s knowledge of their departure time, a lie that momentarily calms the air. In a bid to resolve things, Morteza asks Rouhi for a ride home on the condition that she accompanies him and Amirali to see the fireworks. He briefly steps away and reconnects with Simin, confirming the affair, but Simin’s stance shocks him: she wants them to part ways rather than break up the Samiei.
Simin’s world grows more fragile as she’s harassed on the street and tears up at feeling totally alone. Rouhi, who had previously smelled Simin’s perfume on her hand, pieces together the truth when she spots Morteza with Simin’s distinct musical lighter. The implication hits hard, and Rouhi’s discovery colors the rest of the night. Later, while waiting for a ride home, Rouhi runs into Simin’s ex-husband dropping off their daughter, a moment that leaves Rouhi torn about whether to reveal what she knows.
The day-to-day tension continues: Mozhdeh remains focused on cleaning and spying, while Rouhi secures a ride home and tries to navigate the increasingly delicate lies. When Morteza asks why they lied, Rouhi answers simply that Simin had been kind that day. Meanwhile, Rouhi’s fiancé is impressed by the eyebrow job. The night closes with unresolved tensions: Morteza tries to coax Simin’s ex-husband inside, but he chooses to sleep in the car; Morteza ends up sleeping alone while Mozhdeh sleeps with Amirali, the weight of a fragile arrangement lingering in the air.
The film weaves a portrait of a couple on the edge, seen through the eyes of a stranger brought into their home, and lingers on the fragility of trust, boundaries, and the consequences of secrets kept and revealed.
