Annie is a 36-year-old unmarried book publicist living in Manhattan. On a train ride to visit a married friend in the suburbs of Albany, she meets Dimitri, a married lawyer and an aspiring town judge in a conservative suburb. His deceased father had held public office, and Dimitri wants to follow in his footsteps. The two make small talk and find they have much in common; they kiss and part after exchanging information. Annie’s friend, Debra, tells Annie that she needs to take more risks in life.  Annie and Dimitri begin an affair. Oddly, Dimitri likes to have sex in public places such as parks, movie theaters, and even other people’s backyards—but only upstate. Annie almost thinks that Dimitri wants to get caught so that the decision about revealing his affair will be made for him. Annie falls in love with Dimitri and reflects more and more on her status as a mistress and her desire to potentially have children and a family in the future. Dimitri wins the nomination for the judgeship and prepares his campaign. He asks Annie to move upstate, and she asks what she would do, and where she would stay. He says she could stay with him, explaining how his father had a secretary who stayed in the family home’s attic and went on business trips with the father while the mother stayed home with the kids. Annie gets upset by this idea and suddenly wonders if this relationship a horror rather than a romance.  When Annie tries to leave, Dimitri breaks down and apologizes. They have sex in a park, when a police officer catches them, recognizes Dimitri, and says he needs to take them to the station. Annie considers running away, but Dimitri grabs her wrist “like a handcuff".