In Glasgow Scotland, professional chef Michael begins a new day with a woman sharing his bed.
However, instead of cuddling her, he asks her to go home because it's impossible for him to sleep
with another person in his bed, and besides, he has to go to work soon. Meanwhile, epidemiologist
Susan goes for a walk on the beach with her sister Jenny, who is scolding her for smoking again.
Susan recently ended a relationship and has been in a bad mood since, so to deal with
all her anger she begins throwing rocks at the seagulls. Sometime later, Michael arrives at
the restaurant he works at and has a very usual day with lots of clients to please and coworkers
teasing him for dumping yet another woman after just one night. Susan, on the other hand, has
a very unusual day when she finally goes back to work after having been absent since her break-up.
Her boss Stephen stops her when she's on her way to the lab and takes her with him to the hospital,
since apparently they're needed there. There's a man with a condition they can't put their fingers
on: his wife tells them he suddenly got very depressed and cried a lot, but he quickly got
over it and when he came back to himself, he had lost his sense of smell. Afterward,
they interview the patient, who seems to be fine - no other symptoms besides the loss of smell.
Susan begins wondering why this is such a weird case that they were called over,
and Stephen explains cases like this have been found all over the world. They all appeared in
the last 24hs and had no contact with each other, so nobody has any idea of how it even got started.
They reach the conclusion that it isn't a big deal and maybe it will go away, so for now, they won't
panic. The next day, Susan is having a smoke by the window before going to work and sees Michael
come out from the restaurant backdoor, which is on her street. He sees her as well and asks for
a cigarette, which she throws at him while teasing him. Afterward, at the lab, she and her coworker
give Stephen the conclusions they've reached so far. Nothing indicates that this is a virus,
and it doesn't seem to be contagious, but there's no denying it's spreading. Their options are a
new toxin, something environmental, or perhaps terrorism. They're right about one thing though:
it's definitely spreading. More and more people around the city stop in the middle of the day
to begin crying when they suddenly are hit by profound grief. Once that passes, they lose
their sense of smell. Authorities start appearing on the news explaining their scientists are alert
and investigating the issues, but there's no cause for alarm yet. No matter how many times they say
it isn't contagious though, the fear this news put in people can soon be seen on the streets:
fewer and fewer people are going out, and the ones that do are wearing masks.
One evening, Michael's restaurant is completely empty, so everyone leaves early. While he has a
smoke outside, he sees Susan arrive from work, so after some chitchat, he invites her to have dinner
at the restaurant since they have a lot of extra food to share because of their lack of clients.
Susan is impressed by Michael's cooking abilities, but her enjoyment of the food is interrupted when
she's suddenly hit by a wave of grief and she begins crying. Michael comforts her, ignoring her
worry over him staying too close to her now that she has this mysterious illness too, and offers
her to take her home, which she accepts. When they reach Susan's apartment, Michael decides to stay
and comfort her until she falls asleep. Before that happens though, Michael is hit by grief
as well and begins crying, so Susan hugs him in return - now they're comforting each other at the
same time. The next morning when they have coffee for breakfast, they confirm they can't smell
anything anymore. Later, each of them sees how the lack of smell impacts their jobs. For Susan is a
blessing because they're working with animals and this way she can't smell their nasty cages.
At Michael's restaurant however, a meeting is held to discuss how they'll deal with this since
a great part of food flavor comes from the smell. This will be like cooking for snotty-nosed people:
every flavor must be turned up to eleven. The world moves on as food becomes spicier, sweeter,
and saltier - condiments are used in much higher amounts to compensate for the lack of smell.
The real loss comes in the form of memories, since smells would often trigger them in your brain.
Some days later after work, Michael stands under Susan's window and asks her out. His first few
suggestions are turned down, but eventually, she accepts to go on a walk together. It's during this
walk that they come across a violinist that with her music and a few tree leaves is trying to evoke
the feeling of smells and what the memories those could trigger. After they're done with the walk,
the two of them return to Susan's apartment to spend some time together. Afterward, Michael
wants to fall asleep, which surprises him since usually he can't do that while sharing the bed. On
his way home, Michael comes across a guy that is sure this is a punishment from God and the final
day is coming. But when he makes it to his place, for some reason he can't sleep, even if he's alone
in the bed. The next day, he goes to the cemetery to visit his fiance's grave and comes across her
parents, who judge him for having come without flowers. Meanwhile, Susan hangs out with Jenny
and her kids and tells her she's heard her ex got married and will have a baby soon. She also tells
her about Michael, but she isn't sure if she likes him or not because she always picks bastards.
Theories about the mysterious illness keep popping up: environmental groups think it's the start of
an ecological apocalypse, intelligence claims it's an attack on the free world, fundamentalists talk
of God's punishment for humanity, and others blame capitalism, saying it's a scheme to stimulate the
economy. There are even mentions of aliens. One afternoon, Susan hears some yelling coming from
the lab and finds Stephen having a panic and anxiety attack that is difficult to calm down
even with sedatives. Moments later, in the parking lot, Susan begins having a panic attack as well,
confirming this is a new symptom. And she isn't the only one: the coworker that is trying to
help her and Michael at his restaurant are going through the same thing. In fact, people all over
the world are panicking, and these anxiety attacks are soon followed by a frenzied hunger that makes
every person eat whatever they have at hand, from flowers and raw meat to lipstick and clothing.
The frenzy is short-lived, and when everyone snaps out of it, a new realization hits them:
now they can't taste either. As the world comes to terms with this, Susan goes to see Michael at his
place, seeking company and comfort. She tells him taste and smell are connected so it's only natural
for them to disappear as a pair, and this may mean their other sense will be fine, but it's just a
theory. The next morning, Susan looks through the window and finds the world still moving and
people still going to work, so they should do the same, even if Michael isn't sure if he'll have a
job in the first place. They also agree to start dating. When Michael arrives at the restaurant,
his boss tells him they won't be opening because there will be no clients, people from now on will
only buy flour and fat. But Michael disagrees: having dinner is still a plan people like to
do when they want to go out, and big toasts on important celebrations will also continue to be
a thing, he's sure. They just need to re-invent themselves, and re-invent he does. With the help
of his coworkers, Michael creates a menu based on textures and sounds which is a big success.
People return to the restaurant because it's a socializing activity and they like to be served.
Little by little, the world moves on and life goes back to the usual routine.
Taste is replaced by other sensations, and now there are more bands on the streets playing music,
although some people turn to questionable methods like inhaling laughing gas.
Michael and Susan spend most of their free time together, having fun even while doing mundane
things like bathing and shaving, which turns into a quirky little experience when they try eating
the soap and shaving cream. Afterward, they spend their evening dancing while drinking and smoking,
and Susan decides they should play a game called "make me special". There's only one rule:
they have to confess something nobody else in the world knows. She begins by confessing she
sometimes hates Jenny's children because she can't have her own, her ovaries are crippled. In return,
Michael tells her he used to have a fiance that got sick, and instead of being by her side,
he ran away like a coward. He often visits her grave because he doesn't want to forget the guilt
he's felt, but as time passes, the guilt little by little fades away. This is the confirmation Susan
needed to see she always falls for men that are bastards, but she realizes this time she doesn't
mind because she's one too. Some days later, the lab gets a video call from Thailand. The scientist
informs them that a new symptom has appeared: a fit of rage followed by loss of hearing,
and he even displays this rage himself. Stephen decides it's finally time to start panicking,
and that's what the world does: upon hearing the news, violent riots are started all over
the world, fueled by the rage caused by the illness. All the unaffected can do is wait.
After another night spent with Michael which this time included taking a polaroid picture together,
Susan goes to work to hear some important news: a baby was born with all the senses, so this may be
their chance to get some antibodies. Meanwhile, Michael finds the restaurant is being shut down
because they found somebody infected on the third floor. But in exchange, the council offers them
a job: they want the kitchen employees to help cook for the quarantined. The menu is
just pasta al dente, aka fat and flour. Since the entire street ends up shut, Michael waits nearby
for Susan to arrive so he can invite her to stay with him now that she can't access her own place.
Susan accepts, and on the way to his house, she stops the car for a moment - knowing what awaits
them in the future, she wants to hear all the noises of the world before she loses them as well.
Once they make it to Michael's place, Susan makes a joke about them living together now,
but Michael doesn't take it well. He begins insulting her and treating her like an object,
bringing up her infertility and comparing her to fat and flour. Soon he begins getting
violent as well, breaking things around the house, and while she knows this is a symptom,
Susan is too scared and decides to leave. As she drives through streets filled with chaos, Michael
snaps out of his rage outbreak and discovers he's lost his hearing. His house is quarantined too and
he receives strict orders to stay inside with a promise that water and food will be brought
to him by government officials. This food turns out to be noodles - aka fat and flour.
Meanwhile, Susan goes to the lab, but the only one there is Stephen, who has lost all hope. She
receives a call from Michael, apologizing for what happened and promising it was the disease talking,
not himself. He even says "I love you", but Susan can't deal with him now, so she throws the phone
away and begins thrashing the office as rage finally hits her as well. Afterward, she falls
asleep, and when she wakes up, she finds herself deaf. Wasting no time she leaves the building to
go stay with her sister, ignoring a raging Stephen on the way. When he's sure there are no government
officials around, Michael leaves his house and goes to Susan's windows. Since she isn't there,
he enters the restaurant and finds his boss, who has also lost his hearing. Around the world,
there are two movements now: the people that run through the streets and steal all they can because
they still believe in the end of the world, and those who little by little begin to rebuild and
bring back normalcy with sign language as the main form of communication. After a few days,
Susan goes back to the lab where she finds their polaroid picture and throws it away.
Michael's restaurant reopens to cook dishes designed around texture, using lights to alert
the cooks of when a new order comes in. When he visits a bar he used to go to with Susan, Michael
is surprised to find bands still playing there because people like putting their hands and ears
on the speakers - the vibrations are the closest thing they'll ever get to music again. Waiting for
the worst to happen, people begin concentrating on visual things like reading, getting a tattoo,
looking at paintings or even at the sunset. Everyone is spending time with their families,
except for Michael, who keeps getting drunk and calling out Susan's name under the window.
Darkness will soon arrive in the world, but like all the losses before this one, an emotional
symptom comes first: joyful euphoria. As people around the world notice how beautiful it is to be
alive and hug each other, both Michael and Susan remember how happy their relationship made them
and go looking for each other. Susan arrives first and enters the empty restaurant, Michael comes
soon after and goes upstairs to her apartment. At the window, he sees Susan come out and get in the
car, so he rushes out to try to stop her, but it's too late: she's already gone. Thankfully, this is
a one-way road and Susan must drive back to get out, so she sees Michael standing in the middle of
the street and goes to him, so the couple manages to look at each other for the last time as they
grab their hands and darkness takes over their eyes. They kiss as they feel the tears on their
cheeks, and if anyone could see them, they would look like normal lovers caressing their faces.