1952年的伦敦，担任公务员多年的威廉已经成为战后英国重建的官僚体制中的一枚螺丝钉，办公桌上堆积起无尽的文书工作，而此时这个疲惫的男子得知自己身患绝症，便开始想在死去之前，为灰暗单调的生活寻找一些意义。他尝试了纵欲，忽视家人和工作等，随后，威廉被同办公室年轻的女同事玛格丽特吸引，她本人似乎就代表着生命和生机，和威廉人生中路过的东西。两人的友谊逐渐加深，她不经意地向他展现了如何去面对人总有的一死，如何累计自己的人生经验和奉献最后一次全心努力，克服一切困难去推动一个被推迟已久的项目，帮助动伦敦贫困地区的孩子们。

Atka Natas is a secret agent from the oppressive regime of Liquidatzia. He visits his estranged wife Vera, a chemist who is involved with a group of exiles trying to smuggle their compatriots out of Liquidatzia. Almkvist, an honest local policeman and former lover of Vera's, contacts her while investigating the death of one of the refugees. Natas has a list of agents operating in the host country and wants to sell them to the Americans. However before he can do so, Vera tries to kill him, after an argument about getting her parents out of Liquidatzia.