Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are an elderly couple living in Paris. Despite their advancing years, they remain active, go out and their enjoy lives, and also enjoy each others' company. There lives are irrevocably changed when Anne suddenly starts acting unresponsive one morning at the breakfast table. She has suffered a minor stroke, one which inexorably leads to a sudden, rapid decline that sees her confined to a wheelchair and in constant need of care. Knowing that his wife is afraid of going to a hospital, and horrified at the thought of sending her to a hospice, Georges agrees to care for her himself. As Anne gradually gets worse, losing the ability to control her basic motor functions or even speak coherently, Georges is confronted with what it truly means to love someone.