Lionel and Jean are in bed, reading. Lionel clears his throat and turns a page. Jean looks at him. He does it again and she asks him if he always clears his throat every time he turns a page. He says he never noticed it. Jean asks if his wife ever noticed it. He tells her they never read in bed -- she wouldn't have the light on under any circumstances. He wonders what it is. "Annoying," Jean says. No, he means, he wonders whether it has any psychological significance. Jean doesn't think so, but Lionel does. He's sure the same thing it true about her whistling when she chops onions. She never noticed that she does that. She finds this a peculiar topic of conversation. It's original, though. She tells him it's nice to have someone to talk to in bed. She holds his hand. How's the strength of the peseta? he asks. She prefers when they kept on the subject of peculiar personal habits. 
She says she's got to be at her best for the next morning because she's seeing a candidate about running the new branch. Then it's up to her to be at her best, Lionel says. The phone rings -- it's half past 12 on a Sunday night and Lionel says to let it ring, but Jean puts her robe on and goes downstairs to answer. It's Alistair, who just got in from L.A. He needs to talk with Lionel "like yesterday." Jean says she'll get him, but Alistair tells her he'll be at the house in half an hour. He hangs up quickly before she can object. Jean sighs.
Jean's in the kitchen pouring water into the coffee press. Lionel walks in and tells her she didn't have to get up. She was already up, she says. He means officially. Lionel wonders what would happen if he opened the front door and poured a bucket full of water on Alistair. Jean laughs and says, it's tempting, but he did go all the way to America for him. Yes, that miniseries: Love in the Stone Age. Jean says he may have some news, to which Lionel replies that he'd better have -- if he's come around to show them some holiday slides he will get very unpleasant. The doorbell rings.
Alistair walks into the house. He apologizes -- he didn't notice the time and realizes that he might have awakened them. Jean says they were talking. He and Jean join Lionel in the kitchen. Alistair brings them baseball caps. Lionel says he likes nothing better than sitting up in the early hours of the morning wearing a silly cap. Alistair tells him he doesn't have to wear it if he doesn't want to. Jean says she'll keep hers on if Alistair gets to the point. Alistair has been talking to CBS. "Who's that?" says Lionel. Jean advises Lionel that it is an American television network. They were tremendously excited by Lionel's idea. Lionel corrects him: your idea. Well, both of their ideas, but Lionel's story. The young soldier and the young nurse, fall in love, but being parted by the Korean War. "Did I pitch it, or did I pitch it?" he says. Sy Lieberman cried. "With laughter?" Lionel wants to know. Jean asks if it is the Sy Lieberman. Alistair is delighted: "You know him?" Jean says, no, she just thought it must be the Sy Lieberman -- it must be the hat, she says, and she throws it onto the counter. Alistair says Sy Lieberman wants a treatment. A perfect straight line. Lionel bites: "Why? What's wrong with him?" Even he finds that funny. So does Jean. "Good for you," Jean says "a treatment." She does a quick double-take: "What's a treatment?" It's a development. What's a development, Lionel asks. "A treatment," is the answer. Twenty-five pages about his story -- how he sees it, locations, characters and just enough dialogue to make Sy drool. Alistair is feeling good because he has the ear of the horse's mouth. They have to set up a meeting first with Mike Barbosa, who is Sy's right arm. If he likes the idea he will fly back to Los Angeles with a smile on all their faces. Lionel wants to know how long he has to write this treatment stuff? Bags of time, says Alistair -- Mike doesn't get in 'til Tuesday. Lionel looks stunned.
Judith walks into the agency. Sandy tells her it won't work -- her coming in on time -- it's too late for her to get the branch office now. Why is she coming in on time, though? Judith says she can't stand the tension at breakfast so she just grabbed some coffee and ran. Sandy wants to know if Lionel and Jean have had another one of their rows. No, Judith tells her, Lionel has to write a treatment about their early years together. Alistair's busy pursuading America to turn it into a miniseries. But why should that cause tension, she wants to know. He's only got until tomorrow to do it. Who says? Sy somebody, Judith tells her. She's busy now. She has to do some expenses. Sandy tells her that Jean usually does those. Judith says that Jean will be late this morning. Sandy says that Jean is supposed to be interviewing at 11 o'clock, she's not going to do that, too, is she? Judith tells her not to look so horrified at the idea, but informs her that Jean will be in by that time. She is just staying as long as she can with Lionel so she can help him. Sandy wants to know how it's going. Not too well -- when Judith left they hadn't even thought of a title.
Jean opens the front door and wishes Lionel "Good Luck" on her way out. She says "What about 'Strangers in the Park?'" No, he tells her -- it sounds too much like a Hitchcock film. She walks down the stairs. "Lovers in the Park?" No, he says. There is a cab waiting. She opens the door and says "You'll do it," as she gets into the taxi. The cab pulls away. Lionel says "Perhaps I should call it Psycho." He walks back inside and closes the door.
Jean is late. The job candidate is waiting for her in her office and Judith is making excuses. The woman is cold and curt. Judith asks if she can get her something to drink, like coffee or tea. The woman is very precise -- she'd like a mineral water, still, with ice and a twist of lemon. Judith is surprised by the request, which was made as though everyone had that sort of thing on hand. She says she'll go see what she can do. Judith walks out into the front office and tells Sandy about the mineral water request. Sandy points out that they don't run a cocktail bar. Judith tells her she's just going to go up the road and get one. Sandy asks if she asked for a specific kind of glass. Ooooooh, Judith says "You're not being very fair." Judith passes Jean outside the front door and tells her she's late. Jean blames the bad traffic. She opens the door, walks in looking very flustered and Sandy notices that she's limping. She says that she gave up on the cab and ran the rest of the way and her heel came off. Not going well.
Jean walks into her office and apologizes to the woman for being late. She tells her the Westway was jammed and she broke her heel. Which way did she come, Jean asks. "The Westway." Jean begins to get that intimidated look. The woman says she checks the traffic updates on the radio so she can allow herself plenty of time. "Good for you." Jean wants to know if she wants a drink. She's already ordered one, she says. Jean sits down to talk and realizes that she should bring the other chair closer to her desk, she limps over to the chair to push it closer. She's totally bumbling around, looking like the interviewee instead of the interviewer. Meanwhile the candidate looks like a Martha Stewart-type -- perfect, organized and in charge. 
The woman's name is Sally and Jean tells her that she was very impressed by her CV. She can't remember where she put it. Then she checks her briefcase. She finds the paper, but it's covered in pickle. Jean tells her that her chap made her a cheese and pickle sandwich which must have come unopened. She's sorry, but the woman assures her it is only a photocopy. Jean glances at it and moves some pickle away with her fingers and shortly after sticks her finger in her mouth to suck off the pickle juice. Judith comes in with Sally's mineral water. Jean gives her a shoe and asks her to pop round the corner and get the heel put on. She can't remember where she put the heel. Sally tells her to try the briefcase. Of course, that's where it is. Jean reaches in and grabs the heel plus a handful of pickle. She slowly reaches for a tissue and wipes her hand.
Lionel is busy at the typewriter working on the miniseries when Jean gets back home. She announces that she got covered in pickle that day. He asks how that happened and she tells him he didn't wrap the sandwiches properly. He thinks about it and says she couldn't have gotten covered in pickle. He's sorry. No, she apologizes to him -- she should't have burst in that way going on about the pickle. She gives him a hug. She asks him why he doesn't use the word processor. He tells her it wouldn't make him think any faster. She offers him a drink, but he tells her he'd better not because he thinks it is going to be a long night. She wants to know the problem -- he asks if she wants a list. Just the main problem, she says. Age, he tells her -- it's not easy remembering what he was like at twenty. She says "I thought you were lovely." He counters with "I can hardly describe myself as a lovely second lieutenant, can I?" She looks at a piece of paper and wonders what the inset is. He tells her it's dialogue.
Alistair told him to put in some dialogue to make Sy Lieberman drool. She reads it aloud:
Excuse me, Miss, could you direct me to Curzon Street?(The camera flashes on Lionel who has a big grin on his face because he's so proud of the dialogue).
Yes, just cross Park Lane. And it's almost directly opposite.
Thank you.
Not at all
It's sunny today.
Yes it is. Quite warm, too
Yes, Quite warm.
She's silent for a moment. "That's what we said when we first met," Lionel says, proudly. She tells him it's not going to make him drool -- drop off maybe. He thinks maybe they should subsitute "Hi Babe", "Hiya Big Boy." She tells him that's silly. He says it's all very silly -- the whole thing. She says she's going to stuff the rest of that pickle down his shirt if he gives up. They agreed, she said, that it was worth a go. He says he thinks he'll have the drink now, to lubricate his thinking.
He walks over to his chair. Jean is making the drinks. He asks her how the interview went that afternoon. Jean tells him that the woman was very intimidating -- she was a fashion plate, had incredible credentials and made her feel about 150 years old -- a scruffy 150 year old. He asks if she liked her. She doesn't have to like her, she says -- she'll be working in another building until the coup, which should take about 6 months. Lionel wants to know if she hired her. She didn't -- not straightaway -- but she probably will. Lionel says it was good to make her sweat. Not exactly, Jean says -- Sally told her that was okay to let her know, but could it be within the next 24 hours because she had a lot of interviews lined up. She says she'd better get to fixing dinner and he will get on with his writing. He says he categorically refuses to say anything about sex. Whose sex? she asks. Ours. He's not telling the world what they got up to. Again she explains it's not them -- it's just two people. They've seen all those miniseries and a little bit of sex never hurts. In that case he'll put in the bit about the airing cupboard -- she looks puzzled. He's surprised she doesn't remember. Suddenly she does and she blushes. They have a good laugh. She tells him to get writing.
Sandy is on the telephone with Mr. Coleman, assuring him that they will have a senior executive out to his office within the hour. She comes into Jean's office telling her about his complaint and the fact that the secretary they sent failed to turn up. Jean tells Judith to go. She says she's not a senior executive, but Jean tells her she has winning ways. "Off you go," she tells her. Judith leaves. Sandy tells Jean not to forget to call "Miss Ice Cubes." Jean reminds her that she could have had that branch. She says she likes it just fine where she's at. Miss Ice Cubes, she says, will not be very popular. Jean says you don't have to be loved to run a business. Sandy looks at her and says she knows. Jean gives her a dirty look. She walks out of Jean's office, passing Lionel, who has just arrived. He says that Alistair called -- they're having lunch with Mike Barbosa on a boat. Jean wonders if he's hired the QE2. He wouldn't be surprised.
Lionel wonders if Sandy could run copies of his "treatment" for him. She says it's in a bit of a mess -- why doesn't he let her put it on the word processor? It would only take an hour. He says he doesn't have an hour. Sandy says she'll go run the copies. Jean tells him to think of the money during that lunch -- she doesn't want him to be aggressive or surly. The telephone rings. Sandy has to get it. She tells Lionel to just put the sheets in the tray and press the red button. 
Jean says she'll help him -- but her phone rings and she has to answer it. It looks as though she'll be a while so she tells Lionel to just put the sheets in the tray and press the red button. "You can do that can't you?" He tells her "I am not an imbecile." Sandy and Jean are both very busy and very distracted. Lionel goes to make the copies. Shorty after, he wanders back into Jean's office, just as they both finish their phone calls. Sandy asks if everything is okay. Lionel asks "when do the copies come out?" They race into the other room. What? What? Lionel wants to know. Sandy holds the garbage can with one hand and pulls out shreds of paper with the other.
Lionel and Jean are rushing to the meeting. Jean finds it hard to keep up with him and says it's better to be late than to arrive on the dot all hot and sweaty. He stops. Maybe they shouldn't go at all. She reminds him that she's not even supposed to be there and she doesn't mind helping, but she certainly is not going to go instead of him. He tells her that she is better at talking than he is. Imagine telling a treatment. She says it's better than handing him strips of paper and a pot of glue. They're standing right near the boat. She says "That looks nice." "So did the Titanic," he says.
Alistair is pleased that Jean came along. He introduces them to Mike Barbosa who is obviously not an American, but who plays one with an accent unlike any I've ever heard. I hope no-one actually thinks Americans sound like that. Mike tells them that he is eager to read the treatment. They sit down and order drinks. Jean and Lionel both have alcoholic drinks while Mike orders a mineral water and so does Alistair. You get the impression that Alistair ordered it just to please Mike. Alistair asks about Sy. Mike says he's fine -- Sy told him to bring home a winner. Alistair says that a winner is what they have for him today. Mike says he'd like to read the treatment before they get down to eating. Lionel tells him there is no treatment. "Alistair?" Mike says. Lionel? Alistair says. Lionel says he's not technical. And a red button is a red button. Thank goodness he doesn't work at Cape Canaveral. Jean tries to explain. Lionel is saying that words are so bland on a page -- this is a story about love and hopes and fears and sadness and Lionel would prefer to speak about it. "A pitch," says Mike. That's right. Mike says he'd like to hear the story. Lionel drinks his whole scotch and begins: "Once upon a time..." "In 1954," adds Jean. He was coming to that. He asks if they're sure they want to hear this. Jean kicks him under the table.
Time passes. Jean is explaining how she cried and cried because she didn't hear from him. Lionel says "damned British Armed Forces post office -- of all the letters they had to lose, it had to be mine." She thought he had never written. He thought Jean didn't care to write back. They were both incredibly stupid. Mike is overwhelmed by it. "This is Hemingway. This is Hecht. This is..." Lionel suggests "A.A. Milne" Okay, Mike'll agree with that, too. He asks Alistair if the ship has a fax -- he's got to get this out to Sy while it's still burning in his brain. Alistair gets up and says they'll go find out. They're about to leave when Mike stops and asks if the thing has a title. Lionel looks proudly and was going to tell him his thought for the title when Jean says to him "It's just two people, really." Mike is thrilled -- "Just Two People, My God that's great!" They leave. Jean and Lionel are alone and Lionel starts talking about how hungry he is. She can't believe he's not excited. Mike is faxing Sy, she says. He loves it. She tells Lionel he must be just a little bit excited. He admits he is. But he's hungry, too.
Jean's in their bedroom singing "Hooray for Hollywood" and packing a suitcase. He wants her to stop singing that song. He's going to Los Angeles to see Sy. Yes, he says, if he doesn't get murdered on the way. There are more murders, he says, in Los Angeles in a single day than there are in China in a whole year. She doesn't believe that. Well, there are lots he says. She pulls his baseball cap out of the drawer and asks if he'll be taking it. Certainly not, he tells her. He asks if she'd like him to help her pack. She tells him she's not coming. Mike's reserved two seats, he said she could come. She has a business to run, she says. Lionel tells her it's time she eased off a bit. She's not ready to be put out to pasture yet. She tells him that when a writer comes to Hollywood it's usually with some pencil-thin airhead in her twenties who just wants to sit round the pool and have no opinion other than the temperature of the water. She doesn't fit the bill. She fits his bill, he tells her. What would he do with a woman like that, anyway? She laughs, slyly. He says that if his book ever gets off the ground, she's a big part of that story. He wants her to look on it as a holiday. Actually this is the first year she's looked forward to a holiday, but she doesn't want to spend it with him in meetings all day while she sits with all the bimboes. She tells him it's for him. It's his. He asks if she'll come or not. No, she tells him. He says he's going to get his toilet bag. "I'll see you then." She says as he's only going to the bathroom, he's bound to.
Lionel's car arrives at the airport. The porter asks where he's going. "Oblivion, probably," he says. He changes his answer to Los Angeles. He sits in the waiting room reading the paper. Someone sits down hard, next to him. He looks annoyed and tries to bury himself in the newspaper, but the person must have elbowed him, because he puts the paper down. It's Jean, who is wearing the baseball cap that Alistair gave her. He's happy to see her. He puts his arm around her and they kiss.