Roüan stars in the film as Diane Clovier, a married mother of two who has an affair with the friend of a young writer she is mentoring.

Meanwhile, her husband, a lawyer, is defending a woman charged with murdering her unfaithful spouse.

The film was well received in its native France, but raised some eyebrows for its sympathetic treatment of a woman's infidelity.

[1] The original French title, literally "After Coitus, Sad Animal", alludes to post-coital tristesse.

[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 stars out of 4 and stated that "By the end of the film, we have come to admire Rouan's courage as a performer and a filmmaker, in following Diane's mania as far as it will go".