[3] Insurance adjuster Noah Render lives with his film-censor wife Hera in a barren, unfinished suburban development.

His wife also subverts her responsibilities, bringing home steamy film clips to share with her reclusive sister.

A parallel plot involves a wealthy and bored couple, Bubba and Mimi, who seek sexual adventure.

On the pretext of shooting a film, probably pornographic, they rent Noah's isolated house and he moves his family to join his clients in the motel.

He realized how strange it could be for victims of a house fire to be emotionally dependent on insurance workers, which led to the inspiration for the project.

[7] Both Roger Ebert and The New York Times' Janet Maslin gave positive reviews for the film's initial release.