In San Francisco, Petulia Danner, a young socialite newly married to architect David Danner, navigates a life of polished surfaces and private tensions. Petulia’s world shifts when she meets Dr. Archie Bollen at a charity event for traffic-accident victims. Archie is in the middle of a divorce from his wife, Polo, and the immediate spark between Petulia and the doctor darkens the lines between duty and desire. The connection intensifies after Archie treats Oliver, a Mexican boy Petulia has adopted, and what begins as a charged attraction soon deepens into something more complicated than either of them anticipated.
That tension erupts into a one-night stand, occurring upstairs at the Hilton Hotel, after which Petulia hesitates on the edge of pursuing something real. Archie, calm and nonchalant, helps her down and arranges a taxi ride home, but the encounter leaves a mark that refuses to fade. The next morning, Petulia shows up at Archie’s apartment with a tuba in hand—a surreal symbol of the broken rhythm of their relationship—and Archie’s responses mix casual routine with a growing uneasiness about what this affair means for everyone tied to him.
As the days unfold, Polo announces she is remarrying, a development that stings Archie because he had entertained thoughts of reconciliation. In parallel, Archie spends time with his other partner May, while Petulia stalks him—visiting his workplace and his apartment, seeking a closeness that neither time nor clear judgment seems able to grant. Eventually, Archie yields to the pull between them, and the pair spend another night together, this time under the same roof where loyalties and lives feel both closer and more compromised.
The turning point comes after Archie tours Alcatraz Island with his children. Returning to his life, he finds Petulia seriously beaten and rushed to the hospital. In the hospital waiting room, Archie becomes drawn into a quiet, almost formal ritual—watching a Polaroid slide show with his coworker Barney and his wife Wilma—as Petulia’s condition becomes the focal point of competing truths and strained relationships. While Petulia recovers, David’s father visits and Pettulia’s circle of acquaintances shifts; Archie's anger surfaces when Petulia offers no clear response about what happened, and he leaves with a sense of unresolved accusation looming over everyone involved.
A year passes, and life continues with the same uneasy cadence. Archie crosses paths with Petulia again during a daytime excursion with his son, and when he returns home, he discovers his apartment has been retrofitted with an artificial greenhouse—a literal and figurative attempt to cultivate a new reality out of old ruptures. Meanwhile, Petulia and David share a sailboat cruise that strains their marriage further, hinting at a life lived in the shadow of decisions that cannot be undone. When they finally come back, Archie finds Petulia in a maternity ward, and the story circles back to the choices that started this emotional weather system. In the end, Petulia and Archie acknowledge the mix of affection and consequence between them, and as Petulia is wheeled toward delivery, she calls for him one last time, a quiet farewell that encapsulates a romance defined by longing, circumstance, and irreversible change.
- Petulia Julie Christie Danner remains at the center, her actions driving the orbit of several lives.
- Archie George C. Scott Bollen becomes both catalyst and mirror for Petulia’s longing and the moral ambiguities of adult choice.
- Polo Shirley Knight Danner serves as a counterpoint and reminder of the other side of Archie’s world.
- David Richard Chamberlain Danner anchors the domestic frame that is continually tested.
- May Pippa Scott appears as Archie’s current romantic tie, a foil to Petulia’s pursuit.
- Barney [Arthur Hill] and Wilma [Kathleen Widdoes] provide the domestic backdrop and a window into the couple’s private rituals.
- Mr. Danner [Joseph Cotten] adds a paternal dimension to the family’s entanglements, marking the story with memory and consequence.
