A master of realist cinema who knows how to draw extraordinary performances from his actors, veteran English director Mike Leigh turns to the eighties as from memories of university friends, Annie and Hannah. One week-end, Annie comes to London to visit Hannah after six years spent apart since their graduation.

     They shared a flat when they studied in London, and they had a great number of friends in common. In flashbacks, they go back over those happy years and analyze their own present-day life. They have got ahead professionally, are sure of themselves, and happy, at least on the surface. They do, however, carry with them many of the emotional conflicts of their times in college.

     During the course of the weekend, they rediscover their former friendship and come to understand many of the facets of their past. A story that involves sex, youth, memories, and that shows the transformations that occurred in the eighties.