35-year-old Lyle lives on a farm in Illinois and is trapped in an unsatisfying marriage with the puritanical Amy. When one day a friend from the neighbourhood brings Juliette over for a visit, an unexpected temptation enters Lyle’s life. Even this reserved farmer can’t be indifferent to Juliette for long, and their first fleeting contact at a dance quickly becomes a passion. Thanks to his new lover, Lyle savours sex for the first time in his life. But their secret relationship can’t remain concealed in a small town, and reactions to the affair vary: while Amy burns with jealousy, Juliette’s beau is ready to share in the couple’s intimacy. Their disregard for the rules, however, fills the majority of their neighbours with such indignation that this tale of passionate sexual love can only end in tragedy. The film’s rather simple love story grows into a parable which puts a pressing question: how far can those caught in an overwhelming sexual passion trespass beyond accepted social convention? And how can a closed puritanical society come to terms with such infringement of the rules?