One afternoon in London, architect Theo Rose, Benedict Cumberbatch, meets aspiring chef Ivy Rose, Olivia Colman. She shares her dream of moving to America to start her own restaurant, and he proposes that he move with her, setting up a lifetime together built on shared ambition and a willingness to take risks for love.
Ten years later, Theo and Ivy have relocated to Mendocino, California, and are married with twin children, Hattie Rose and Roy Rose. The family life unfolds with distinct parenting philosophies: Ivy spoils the kids with cakes and playful activities, while Theo prioritizes their health and discipline. Ivy has sacrificed her own business plans to devote herself to motherhood, and Theo, wishing to support her dream, buys a piece of real estate with his own money where she can finally open her restaurant.
One stormy night, disaster reshapes their world. Theo’s newly designed naval history museum is destroyed, just as Ivy’s restaurant begins to attract shelter-seekers from the storm. Among the visitors is a renowned food critic, Sylvia, who pens a glowing review that lifts Ivy’s business onto a fast track of rapid growth, turning her into the family’s primary breadwinner. In the wake of this success, Theo loses his job and agrees to stay at home, taking charge of the kids and their routines. He imposes a strict diet and a regime of regular exercise, hoping to protect them from harm, while Ivy basks in the new role as a celebrated entrepreneur. The shift unsettles the couple, and Ivy begins to feel increasingly cut off from her children’s lives, while Theo grows uneasy and jealous of Ivy’s flourishing career.
Their once-solid bond strains under mounting tensions, and the couple makes several earnest but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to repair it. A romantic trip to New York City and a round of marriage counseling fail to bridge the growing rift. In a final, desperate bid to salvage their marriage, Ivy uses the profits from franchising her restaurant to give Theo the opportunity to build their dream house, hoping to restore balance and closeness.
Three years pass, and the house is finally finished. The teens—Hattie and Roy—have become prodigies and gain admission to a Miami school on sports scholarships, shifting the focus away from the couple’s quarrel. With the kids no longer a distraction, the underlying resentments between Ivy and Theo intensify into a full-blown feud. At a housewarming party, Ivy publicly mocks Theo, undermining his year of hard work, and the mood thickens into mutual contempt. In a moment of clarity, Theo saves a beached whale and experiences a startling epiphany: he realizes he is no longer in love with Ivy. He asks for a divorce, claiming the house as his sole demand, while Ivy insists she should leave with nothing.
The two decide to torment each other, and the couple faces severe repercussions: Theo is blacklisted from the architectural world, and Ivy’s restaurants are shuttered for health violations. Ivy suffers an allergic reaction after Theo tricks her into tasting a raspberry dessert, a gambit designed to force her to sign divorce papers; she pretends to sign, but Theo still comes to her aid. In a tense moment, Ivy tries to defend herself with a home-defense gun, pursuing Theo through the house and accidentally damaging a cherished stove once linked to Julia Child. Overwhelmed, Theo confesses that he still loves Ivy, and Ivy responds that she feels the same, lowering the weapon.
As the pair rekindle a fragile intimacy, a gas leak triggered by the damaged stove sweeps through the house. Unaware of the danger, Theo asks their smart home system to turn on the stove flame, and the two of them are overwhelmed by the deadly combination of gas and fire, dying together in the final stillness of their home.
Their story unfolds as a thoughtful meditation on love, ambition, and the ways a relationship can fracture under pressure, only to be drawn back toward connection in the darkest of moments. The film weaves intimate portraits of a couple who chase after dream careers while juggling family life, showing how success can both unite and corrode the foundations of partnership, and how a shared history can offer one last chance at reconciliation even as the house they built becomes the stage for their ultimate tragedy.
