| Director | Sydney Pollack |
|---|---|
| Genre | crime film, drama film, film based on a novel, romance film |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $64 million |
| Box office | $74.6 million |
Sergeant William "Dutch" Van Den Broeck is a seasoned police sergeant in the Internal Affairs Division of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Kay Chandler is a congresswoman for New Hampshire running for reelection. Dutch is married to a fashion editor, and Kay is married to a lawyer and has a teenage daughter.
They lead separate lives, unaware of each other's existence, until a fateful plane crash changes everything. Dutch's wife Peyton and Kay's husband Cullen are among the passengers killed in the tragic accident, leaving Dutch and Kay to grapple with their devastating loss.
The plane is bound for Miami but crashes soon after takeoff. Dutch realizes that his wife was on the plane, but strangely, Peyton's employer has no record of Peyton sent to work in Miami by her employer. The airline has no record of her. Dutch assumes that his wife was on the plane as some other man's wife. He concludes that she was having an affair. Representatives from Southern Airlines, whose airline was involved in a crash, show up at Dutch's door. His investigation turns up that Peyton was sitting next to Kay Chandler's husband.
Suspicious of the affair, Dutch meets with Kay to see if she knew about their spouses' relationship. Kay is concerned about the publicity of a scandal during a re-election campaign. Kay is not willing to talk to Dutch and asks him to leave her alone. Undeterred, Dutch pushes on with his investigation, goes to Miami and visits the hotel where he not only discovers that his wife was planning on check in, but that Kay had changed her mind and followed him, wishing to uncover the truth about her husband.
The two begin to talk about their lives and their relationships, including their spouses' infidelity. Kay discusses the possibility of withdrawing from the campaign. They fly back home and share a kiss before parting company. A few days later, Dutch goes to one of Kay's campaign fundraisers and convinces her not to drop out of the race.
Dutch invites Kay to visit him at his cabin near Chesapeake Bay. Initially hesitant, she goes a few days later. The couple spends more time getting to know each other and eventually have sex. However, Dutch is still obsessed about his wife's infidelity and comments that he believes that their spouses may have had an apartment together. Kay encourages him to move on with his life and to let it go.
The stress of his wife's death and affair begins to wear on Dutch. He loses his composure with another police officer and assaults him, leading to his suspension from work. Dutch and Kay separately discover the location of the apartment, but as he finds Kay cleaning out the apartment, they argue with each other before Kay leaves. Dutch chases her into the street in the hopes that he can make amends. However, Dutch is shot by the suspect in his criminal investigation.
Dutch survives the shooting, and the suspect is caught and arrested. The criminal investigation reveals the connection between Dutch and Kay to the world, and the media begins investigating. With rumors about their relationship growing, Kay decides to publicly confirm that she and Dutch are friends, thus leading her to lose her bid for re-election, while Dutch receives his promotion. Kay decides to leave Washington and move back home.
Dutch meets Kay at the airport before she leaves. Each of them has finally moved on from the pain of their mutual spouses’ betrayal and they are happy to see each other. Dutch asks Kay if he can take her out on a date sometime.