Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski helms this Paris-set psychological thriller adapted from the 2007 book by Douglas Kennedy. American novelist Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke) arrives in Paris in the vain hope of staging a reconciliation with his estranged ex-wife and daughter. When his plan fails, Tom hits rock bottom, renting a room in a seedy motel, taking a job as a gangster's accomplice and embarking on an affair with mysterious literary translator Margit Kadara (Kristin Scott Thomas).