The play opens with Dan and Alice in a hospital. They are there after Alice has been hit by a taxi. We learn that Dan writes obituaries. Alice is seen by Larry who briefly examines her leg. Soon after Alice wants Dan to spend the rest of the day with her so, she calls his boss to tell him that Dan is sick and cannot come into work.
We jump ahead in time to one year later and Dan is about to publish a book based on Alice's previous experiences as a stripper. He is with Anna, a photographer taking his picture for publicity. Dan flirts with Anna and begs her to see him even though he is in a relationship with Alice. Anna tells him no, but Alice has overheard the conversation. Dan leaves and Alice confronts Anna who she's asked to take her picture. Anna tells her she is not a thief and at the end of their talk Anna takes a picture of a tear-stricken Alice.
Marber leaps ahead another six months where Dan and Larry, the doctor from the first scene are in an adult chat room. Dan impersonates Anna and has internet sex with Larry; he even sets up a fake meeting with Dan at the London Aquarium the next day. Larry goes and sees Anna, who Dan had no clue would be there, and acts towards her as if she is the one having had internet sex with him last night. He realizes it wasn't her and that he's made an ass of himself. Larry realizes it was most likely Dan playing a joke on him. She tells him that it's her birthday. Anna takes his picutre and they soon after become a couple.
Anna then has a showing of her photographs which Alice and Dan come to, they are a couple once again. Larry meets Alice who is standing in front of the photo that Anna took of her crying. Larry knows that she is Dan's girlfriend. Meanwhile Dan is off convincing Anna to continue on with the affair they are having. They continue to cheat on their partners even through Anna and Larry's marriage. One year later they leave their partners for each other after telling them the truth of their affair.
Alice is devastated by this and returns to a life of stripping. Larry finds her one night in a stripclub, she goes by the name Jane. Larry invites her to meet him later to have sex. She declines, but ultimately does go with him.
One month after this Anna is with Dan. She's just gotten the divorce papers signed, but tells him Larry demanded sex in exchange for signing the papers for her. Dan becomes jealous, and wants to know why Anna didn't lie to him. This turns into a brutal conversation which Anna reveals to him that she actually did have sex with Larry to get the papers signed.
Later we learn that Alice and Larry have been sleeping together and on his birthday she aks him to come to the museum. But, when he arrives Anna is there, a meeting Alice has set up. Larry and Anna talk about whether their marriage will ever be finalized. Larry leaves when Alice comes out of hiding. Her and Anna share a heated discussion which ends with Alice demeaning Anna by calling out Larry's stunted emotional state and her knowing that Dan still calls out for "Buster" (Alice's nickname) while he's sleeping. After all of this Anna goes back to Larry and Dan confronts him in his office. Larry tells him Anna no longer wants him and tells him to go back to Alice. he tells Dan where to find her--the strip club; he tells him he saw her naked but didn't sleep with her. But, at the end of their discussion Larry decides to reveal the truth: that he has slep with Alice in order to hurt Dan.
Dan is now back with Alice and they are in a hotel waiting to go on a trip to America. While there Dan wants her to tell him the truth, that she slept with Larry. She doesn't want to, and at the same time she doesn't want to lie to him. The only option she believes she has is to leave him. She tells him she doesn't leave him anymore, and this leads to a physical altercation and Dan hits her.
In the final scene we see Larry and Anna together. We learn that they have split and Larry is now dating a young nurse named Polly. The reason for their meeting is because Alice died the night before in New York City. She was hit by a car crossing the street. Larry leaves as Dan comes into the scene. He tells Anna that he is flying to New York in order to identify Alice's body as there is no one there to do so. Dan tells Anna that he's learned that his ex, Ruth whom he left for Alice, is married with a child and is pregnant with a second. She married a poet who she fell in love with before meeting after reading his poetry. They say goodbye with a lack of love or liking each other. Dan leaves for his flight and Anna is left alone.
