Plot
Richard Haig sits across from his young son Jake, explaining some difficult news. He tells him about his childhood, in which he so much admired his philandering university professor father, that he has followed in his footsteps.
Now a successful and well-respected professor of Literature, outside the classroom Richard dates a steady stream of beautiful undergraduates. One of them is Kate, a 25-year-old American.
The evening Richard is to meet Kate and her father in a hotel bar he strikes up a flirty conversation with a woman. Kate arrives and explains that it is her sister Olivia, who has arrived on a surprise visit. As they are chatting, she explains their father was a bigamist.They become best friends, and agree to always be totally honest with each other.
After Olivia suggests that Richard is only seeing her because Kate is leaving for LA, she theorises that Kate sees him as a father-figure. Kate then tells them she is pregnant, and he is shocked. His father Gordon vehemently opposes Richard's idea of settling down.
This opposition inspires Richard to put his philandering behind him, he marries Kate and agrees to move to Los Angeles to start a family. He is only able to get an unfulfilling job at a local community college, where his students are disinterested.
Some time later Richard sees Kate riding in a Hummer with someone else. When she tells Richard that she loves someone else, they separate, and her lover Brian moves into the pool house.
Two years later Richard is telling Jake about the events leading up to the present. Having severely hurt his teeth while playing ball, a dentist had prescribed him medication incompatible with alcohol. Disregarding the warning, at an evening gathering to meet ULA staff Richard drank alcohol, causing him to act strangely at the function, then drive erratically. He was pulled over by the police, and lost his driving license. Olivia catches her husband Alan cheating on her, and Kate invites her to stay and help Richard look after Jake,as she is going away with Brian for four days. Olivia drives him to his mandatory AA meetings, as his hearing to renew his green card is coming up soon.
As Richard and Olivia interact while looking after Jake, their mutual attraction grows. She's impressed by his skills as a father, while he finds himself jealous of her publisher, Tim. The chemistry they've had since first meeting resurges and they have a night of passion in the pool house. Kate and Brian return earlier than expected, taking them by surprise. Sneaking naked out of bed with Richard, she jumps into the pool, pretending she had been skinny-dipping. Nonchalantly, Richard comes out to greet them. Next his father shows up, who neither Kate nor Jake have met before.
When Richard finishes his tenth AA meeting, the coordinator refuses to certify he has done so as he has misbehaved and not followed the steps. When the ULA rep sits in on his lecture to his disinterested students, Richard goes off script. As he is leaving his father a voice message, the rep arrives and offers him a teaching job.
Elated, Richard rushes in to the house, telling Olivia and alluding to their intimate connection, without realising that both Brian and Kate have heard everything. Kate kicks him out and refuses to support him at the immigration interview, so he loses his case.
Richard explains the circumstances of his deportation to Jake, and they make a tearful farewell. Repatriated to the UK, he resumes lecturing. Soon after, his father is hospitalised. On his death bed he tells Richard to go after Olivia. His will stipulates that his ashes be scattered in LA, so Richard enters America illegally from Mexico. He apologises to Kate. Then the family go together to Olivia's book launch, where the sisters reconcile. After spreading his father's ashes, he proposes to Olivia.
