The movie begins with a narration from Iris. She is telling her story about love. How there
are people who are in love, people who fall out of love, and the cruelest type of love- the one-sided
one, which happens to be her case. It cuts to a scene with Iris, working in her office as a
party is being held in the building. She gets a break from work for a little bit and heads to see
how the party’s going. Her friend sees that she’s distraught and asks her what is wrong. She tells
her that she is in love with her boss and that she has spent the last three years being in love
with him. She stops venting to her friend and goes to finish her report. She gets interrupted
by the man she’s in love with. She gets really excited. He says that he has a gift for her;
she smiles and says that she had gotten him one as well. He says that he doesn’t have his
present with him but it is a rather hot one. Iris smiles and gifts him a book. They’re conversation
is interrupted as they’re told to gather up in the hall for a special announcement. The man
on the mike says that he has a fantastic story about a marriage that Iris has to write about.
He announces that Jasper and his girlfriend are getting married. Everybody cheers but Iris is
left heartbroken with tears in her eyes. She goes home and cries all night. On the other side we see
Amanda fighting with her boyfriend because he cheated on her. She kicks him out of the house
and he is left dumbfounded. They continue to argue and he tells her that she isn’t like anyone else;
I mean she hasn’t cried since she was fifteen. She has had enough of him and goes into her house.
Her assistant calls her to look at a new trailer they’ve made. Amanda owns a trailer making company
and is in the works of a trailer at the moment. She goes to see the finished product and loves it.
She tells her colleagues that she needs to take a break, as she needs to be alone and far away from
men. She decides to do so as she tries to find a place to vacation alone. She comes across a small
cottage named Surrey in England. Iris’s house happens to be up for rental and Amanda thinks
that that’s perfect. She contact Iris and that kind of cheers her up as she’s been crying all day
about Jasper. Iris tells her that the house isn’t just for rental, but they have to switch houses,
cars and all. They’ll be living each other’s lives for a period of time. Amanda asks Iris if they’re
any men in her cottage, she says no and they agree on swapping houses the next day. The girls get
on their planes as they’re ready to escape their reality. They both fly in their own style, Iris in
economy and Amanda in first class. First arrives Amanda, she isn’t really pleasantly surprised by
the cottage but decides to settle in. On the other side Iris is more than thrilled. She explores the
house and gets more and more excited as she does so. After Amanda settles in she decides to go to
town. She isn’t used to driving on the other side of the road or the other side of the car, but
decides to give it a try. She almost crashes but manages to get used to it. She goes to a market
and buys anything she wants. She wants to spend the holiday not worrying about what she eats. She
buys a lot and heads back. She arrives, gets cozy and puts some music on blast and has the best time
of her life. She ends up getting bored because she is alone but there’s nothing to do in the cottage.
Over in L A, Iris is having a blast. After a swim in the pool, she gets a call. It is a call from
the gate. She doesn’t really know how the gate works because she hasn’t even seen anything like
it. She lets the people in. This is when we meet Miles; he is a music producer and is there to pick
up something from the house. Iris tells him they can come back tomorrow because she has to check
with Amanda’s assistant. The chemistry between them is evident as they stare into each other’s
eyes. The only bad thing with Iris’s holiday is that she cannot get used to the time difference.
However, she discovers a button on the side of the bed which closes the blinds making the room
pitch black. Over in Surrey, Amanda is woken up by loud banging on the door. She goes to open
it and sees a drunk man on the porch. They both look surprised. The man asks to come in the house
and Amanda lets him in. He introduces himself as Graham and says that he is Iris’s brother. He sits
down to sober up and get warm. Amanda explains why she’s there and he tells her that he isn’t
a drunker; he just went to the local pub. Amanda says that it’s not a problem and that she’s going
to leave the next day, because she doesn’t really feel like herself. They continue the small talk
and Graham asks to stay the night. Amanda agrees and gives him a blanket. He asks her why she isn’t
feeling like herself and she tells him about the breakup. They say their goodnights and Graham
kisses Amanda. She’s taken aback but asks him to do it again. After the second kiss Amanda admits
that she feels weird. She’s says that kissing a total stranger is rather odd to her. She asks him
if he wants to have romantic moments with her, given the situation she and really both of them
are. She admits that she hasn’t done anything like that before and isn’t really well in that field.
They start kissing and Amanda gets up; gets her glass and the bottle of their drink and motions
him to come for her. Morning comes and Amanda can be seen in the kitchen. Graham comes down and says
good morning. He tries to ease up the awkwardness, but Amanda cuts him off by saying that he doesn’t
have to do as such, because she will never see him again. His phone rings and Amanda picks it up to
give it him, but sees Sophie on the screen, which makes her curious. Graham’s decides to make sure
Amanda’s alright as he heads to leave. She tells him that she’s fine and Graham surprised about it,
because he tends to hurt the women he sleeps with, simply by being himself. Amanda promises him that
she’s not going to fall in love with him, so he is free to go. This bugs Graham because a
girl has never, not fallen in love with him. He invites her to come to the pub tonight, if
her flight’s canceled or if she changes her mind about leaving, of course. Amanda’s at the airport
and for some reason she’s rethinking her decision. On the other side of the world, a phone call wakes
up Iris. Jasper is on the phone, she gets excited but that disappears, when he asks her to review
some papers for him. She closes the blinds and continues her sleep as she hangs up the phone.
In Surrey, things are about to get interesting. Graham goes to the pub to meet his friends;
he looks for Amanda but doesn’t see her. He sits down disappointed but sees Amanda across from him,
smiling. One day as Iris is driving her car she sees an old man that is a neighbor to Amanda.
He looks lost and she offers to give him a ride. They arrive at his house and he tells
her that the only reason he confuses the houses is because they tear down some of them, because
they’re old and made new ones. Iris helps the old man get in. Inside the house she sees paper
scattered everywhere and shiny awards. She’s very impressed as she realizes that the man’s a writer
like herself. She invites the man to a dinner on Saturday night. At the dinner we see Iris being
fascinated by the old man’s stories. He tells her that he has been working in Hollywood since
he was just seventeen years old. When the old man asks Iris about the reason behind her stay in L A,
she cries. She admits that she’s running away from Jasper. The old man comforts her and manages to
change the Iris’s world by saying that she should be the leading role of her life. Iris thanks him
because she’s been to a therapist for three years and that hasn’t helped her, but his words surely
did. The next morning, Amanda wakes up and goes to the kitchen. She sees Graham there and immediately
thinks that they have slept together. Graham says that they haven’t and they get interrupted by a
phone call. Amanda picks it up again and sees Olivia calling him. She apologizes, Graham tells
her it’s fine and goes outside to take the call. Amanda looks at him through the window and finds
herself wondering about the man. He comes inside and invites Amanda to lunch in the town; to get
to know each other. As they’re having lunch, Graham tells Amanda that he feels like she’s
interrogating him. She admits that she hasn’t been on a date in a long time and doesn’t really know
how to date. Graham answers her question and we find out that he is a book editor and that his
family’s in the publishing business. He asks her about her family. She tries to go over it quickly
and reveals that her parents had broken up when she was fifteen and that was the last time she
had cried. On the contrary, Graham admits that he is a weeper. The night goes on, and both of them
seem to be enjoying each other’s company more than they thought they would. After the lovely lunch,
Graham takes Amanda back to the house. They get in front of the house and Amanda tells him that
she doesn’t want to make things complicated, as she’s leaving in nine days. Graham’s hurt but
appreciates the fact that she’s honest. They kiss and Amanda gets out. There is a knock on the door
and Iris opens it. Miles is standing on the door. He walks in and sees that Iris is having a party.
Well, more like a gathering. The old writer had invited some of his friends to meet Iris as she
hasn’t met anyone yet. The group starts talking about the writer’s late wife. They say she was a
great woman and the writer was a great husband. As they’re talking about their dating lives,
they ask Miles if he is a ladies boy. He says that he’s a one girl at a time man. He says that he is
in a relationship. The old writer suggest leaving the young adult alone, as he notices Miles’s looks
toward Iris. The night ends and as Iris is walking Miles to the front door, she tells him about
a list of movies that the writer had given her that she has to see. Miles suggest they watch one
together sometime. Iris says that’s a lovely idea and Miles kisses her on the cheek as he’s about to
get out. He kisses her again and when he realizes he apologizes. Iris smiles and tells him that it’s
alright. Things are not looking great in Surrey as Amanda’s mind is filling up with different
thoughts. She realizes that she pushes every guy away and decides to pay Graham a visit. As she’s
trying to apologize to Graham at the door she sees that he is not alone. A little girl comes to the
door and asks her dad who’s at the door. Graham introduces his daughter to Amanda. Sophie invites
her to come in, and, soon another girl appears. She says that her name’s Olivia. They all go
inside and Amanda looks for a woman in the house. She sees no one and as Graham’s taking her coat
off she asks him if he’s married, he of course says no. The girls go to look at what Amanda had
brought, and Amanda takes the chance to ask Graham if he’s divorced. He says that he is a widower and
has been one for two years. They gather around the table for some hot chocolate. One of his
girls asks him to do “Mr. Napkinhead” and Graham gets embarrassed. He hesitates but does it at the
end. The girls are laughing, Amanda and Graham are laughing; everyone’s having an amazing time.
Amanda gets invited to the girl’s tent. They all lay in the tent and the girls start complimenting
Amanda. They seem to like her and even invite her to a sleep over. After the girls are put to bed,
Graham and Amanda have a talk. He tells Amanda that no one’s been a better hit for his girls.
He apologizes to Amanda, and says that it’s easier for him to pretend that he is single
as he only does one night stands. It takes time to get to know the other person so he can tell them
about his real complicated life. Both of them realize they’re worlds apart and things are far
more complicated than they think. Iris is having a fantastic time. She goes to Arthur and hands him
his mail. He throws one of the mails in the bin and she asks him why he would do that. She sees
that the letter is from Writer Guild of America, and they want to have an evening with him to honor
his work. Arthur says that he doesn’t want to go, because he doesn’t want to go on a stage
with a walker just to talk to a small crowd. Iris manages to convince the writer and after
some exercise Arthur can finally walk without a stroller. Iris receives a phone call from Graham.
She is excited and tells him about the happenings in her life. She tells him that he has to meet
Amanda and he says that he already has. She gets another call on the line and it’s Amanda. Iris
tells her that she’s speaking on the phone with her brother and it goes back and forth between
the lines. When Amanda tells Iris to ask Graham where he is and to contact her, Iris looses it.
She switches the line to Graham and start yelling at him for having romantic moments with Amanda,
she is surprised though when Amanda answers the line; Iris apologizes and hangs up the phone. She
gets a call immediately and thinks that it’s either Graham or Amanda, but Miles is on the
other end. She is surprised and Miles asks her to join her to rent a movie from Author’s list. They
meet at the shop and browse through the movies. As they’re talking Miles notices his girlfriend
Maggie walking with some guy and being all touchy. He goes to talk to her and it cuts to him laying
on a couch. He is sad but realizes that Iris is miserable, when she tries to comfort him by
telling him her story, and how she understood him. They agree to make fettuccini and some popcorn,
and to put on one of the movies from the list. It is the night before the holiday, sadly, has
to come to an end. As Amanda’s packing she hears her dog barking. She opens the door to see Graham
and kisses him immediately. Iris and Miles are having a great time as well, as he’s playing her
the music they’re going to use for Author’s walk. He also says that he has written a song about
Iris as well. As he plays it Iris gets softer and she has the look of love in her eyes. It cuts to
Graham and Amanda as they lay down trying to catch their breath after having romantic moments. Graham
tells her that she is really good and she thanks him. They start talking about their situation and
how can they work it out. Graham doesn’t really know the answer to it all, but tells her that he
loves her. Amanda’s left speechless. She doesn’t say it back which breaks his heart, but she did
say that she would not fall in love with him so he doesn’t say anything. She kisses him and tries to
make the time they have left wonderful. Over in L A, Iris and Miles are having lunch. As they’re
talking a phone call interrupts them. Maggie calls Miles and tells him that she wants to be
with him again. He runs off quickly and Iris doesn’t really feel well about the situation,
but there’s nothing she can do. Iris goes back to the house and decides to review Jasper’s
papers. Right as she’s about to get to them, she receives a call from Jasper. He tells her that
he has delivered a gift for her. She opens the door and sees him standing in front of her. She
is pleasantly surprised and lets him in. He tells her that he misses her and she falls for it. After
some time they lie down and start making plans about their future. Iris asks him if that means
he had broken up with his fiancée and he says that he hasn’t. Iris has had enough. She yells at
Jasper and tells him to get out. She finally let’s go of the love she held for him for three years.
She closes the door to his face and gets ready for the new chapter of her life. Later in the night
she gets ready and goes to pick up Arthur. When they walk into the hall they are met with hundreds
of people cheering for Arthur. He is overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised. He tries to get up on
stage and succeeds as he’s training has paid off. While Iris’s sitting in the crowd, watching him,
Miles sits next to her. He tells her that he’s glad he made it and reveals that he is finished
with Maggie. He asks Iris on a date on New Year’s Eve as he will come to England. She kisses him and
that answers his question. Arthur finishes his speech and they all cheer for him. The morning
comes and Amanda is ready to leave. Graham is at the door to say goodbye to her. They kiss for the
last time and hug each other. Amanda gets in the car and goes off. Amanda’s driver asks her how
the trip was, and as she starts talking about it, she starts crying. It’s a miracle, Amanda’s crying
again. She tells the driver to turn around and go back to the house. When she arrives at the house
she sees Graham crying. She goes to hug him and says that she will be staying for the New Year’s.
It cuts to New Year’s Eve. Both of the couples are there along with Graham’s daughters. They’re all
enjoying and having fun. The unexpected love had brought happiness to the whole family.