| Director | Atom Egoyan |
|---|---|
| Genre | LGBT-related film, drama film, erotic film, erotic thriller, thriller film |
| Runtime | 96 min |
| Country | Canada, France, United States |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $13.6 million |
Catherine is a gynecologist, her husband David is a college professor, and they have a teenage son, Michael. Catherine suspects David of having an affair after she sees a cell-phone picture of him with a female student.
At a restaurant, Catherine encounters a young woman named Chloe and realizes she is a call girl. One day, she notices Chloe from her office window, entering an upscale bar, and surmises that they work in the same neighborhood. Chloe goes to the bar to meet clients. Catherine goes there to meet Chloe and tells her that she wants to hire her to test David's loyalty. Catherine gave Chloe information about her husband.
Chloe reports back that David kissed her, saddening Catherine. Chloe and David's relationship develops sexually, and Catherine asks that Chloe show her the results of her tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Chloe brings the test results to Catherine's office, where she meets Michael and flirts with him.
Catherine and Chloe meet multiple times, and Chloe describes in explicit detail her sexual encounters with David, which arouses Catherine. During a meeting at a hotel where Chloe says she had a tryst with David, Chloe kisses Catherine. Catherine, surprised by this, abruptly leaves. Later, she is taken aback by David's awareness of the scent of her lotion; it is the same lotion that Chloe wears. Upset by this, Catherine leaves and meets with Chloe again at a hotel, where she asks how David touches her. Realizing that she is heartbroken, Chloe consoles Catherine, leading to a sexual encounter.
Catherine gets home very late, leading David to ask if she has been unfaithful. Catherine tells him he has been unfaithful as well, and the two argue. Chloe confronts Catherine and tells her what they shared together is real, but Catherine insists their relationship was a business transaction and asks her to please leave. She calls off their relationship, but when Chloe mentions that David called Chloe again, Catherine decides to settle this once and for all: she calls Chloe to meet at a coffee house, where she also calls David. David arrives first, and she angrily demands that he admit he is having an affair. Chloe walks in, and it is clear that David does not recognize her. Chloe quickly leaves without speaking to either of them, and Catherine realizes that Chloe made up all the stories of her encounters with David.
David admits that he has flirted and been tempted but has never been unfaithful to her. Upset, Catherine reveals everything about Chloe and that they slept together. She apologizes, saying that she felt she had become invisible to David as she aged, while David became more attractive to her. David comforts and kisses her, and the couple reconciles.
Chloe goes to Catherine's house and has sex with Michael in Catherine's bed. Catherine arrives home, and Chloe tells Catherine that she is in love with her and that she only had sex with Michael because Michael reminds her of Catherine. She threatens to hurt Catherine, requesting a kiss, and Catherine complies. Michael sees them, startling Catherine and causing her to push Chloe through the bedroom window. Chloe grabs hold of the window frame but intentionally lets go and falls to her death. Sometime later, at Michael's graduation party, Catherine is seen wearing Chloe's hairpin; the family is seemingly reconciled.