He lives in a beautiful villa with his two sons, Miles and Andrew, who are cared for by a newly arrived housekeeper because their mother has just died in a hospital abroad.

He does not realize that his son lacks affection and suffers from the absences and the harshness of education imposed on him by his father who transfers all his attentions to the youngest.

Prior to the casting of Gene Hackman, director Jerry Schatzberg had considered Michael Caine for the role of Ned Rawley.

[3] Initially intended to be shot in New Zealand, Tarak Ben Ammar convinced Schatzberg to instead film in his home country of Tunisia.

[3] This resulted in Susan Anspach's performance as Lilly Rawley being substantially reduced and only appearing in flashbacks despite being envisioned as a more prominent character.