Now and Forever

Carefree and irresponsible Jerry Day and his second wife, Toni, run up a bill at a Shanghai hotel. With no means to pay, Jerry hatches a plan to swindle other guests to raise the money and continue their vacation. The scheme reveals their carefree attitude toward money and consequences.

Desperation drives Jerry to consider selling the custody rights of his five-year-old daughter Pennie to his former brother-in-law. The idea shocks Toni and she cannot believe he would trade his child for cash. The plan marks a low point in their moral compass.

Toni is shocked by Jerry's plan and travels alone to Paris. Her departure signals a turning point as she seeks distance from the immediate chaos. The move places them on divergent paths for a time.

While Toni heads to Paris, Jerry meets his daughter Pennie for the first time and is instantly captivated by her. He feels a protective pull and decides to keep Pennie, choosing to assume responsibility for her. The moment marks a shift from abandonment to commitment.

Pennie and Jerry arrive in Paris to be reunited with Toni, who will now pretend to be Pennie's mother. The fragile family trio tries to establish stability in a foreign city. Jerry begins to rethink his earlier reckless plans.

Jerry pitches a non-existent gold mine to Felix Evans, a man who proves to be a seasoned con artist. Evans proves more cunning than Jerry anticipated, pulling him deeper into fraudulent schemes. Jerry's desperation pushes him toward increasingly risky bets.

Jerry tries to re-enter the workforce as a real estate salesman but is not very successful. His financial strain grows, and the lure of Evans's scams becomes harder to resist. The repeated failures heighten the tension in his relationship with Pennie.

Evans pays with a phony check and convinces Jerry to steal a valuable necklace from Mrs. Crane, a wealthy woman Pennie befriends. The plan represents a dangerous plunge back into criminal activity. Jerry's guilt about Pennie's faith in him begins to gnaw at his resolve.

During a party for Mrs. Crane, Jerry spots the necklace on her dresser and steals it, hiding it in Pennie's teddy bear. The guests are searched, but the necklace remains hidden. The atmosphere blends glamour with looming danger as the theft unfolds.

After Pennie is tucked into bed, she discovers the necklace hidden inside her teddy bear. She asks Jerry if he took it, and he denies. To ease her distress, Toni lies that she took the necklace, shielding Jerry's truth and testing Pennie's trust.

Jerry returns the necklace to Mrs. Crane, who agrees to lie that it was not stolen but mislaid. Mrs. Crane then takes Pennie to boarding school, further separating the family. The deception tightens the web of secrets surrounding them.

Jerry, suffering from an untreated gunshot wound, collapses as he tries to get back into the car after the confrontation. Toni takes him to a hospital, hoping to keep him safe from legal trouble. The injury catapults them into a new, somber reality.

Lying in a hospital bed with a police officer nearby, Jerry contemplates that coming clean might not be so bad after all. He weighs the consequences of honesty for Pennie and himself. The moment hints at possible redemption or at least an acceptance of consequences.