凯蒂（凯蒂·霍尔姆斯 Katie Holmes 饰）是一名即将毕业的大学学生，怀揣着对步入社会的憧憬，凯蒂这段时间正在马不停蹄的忙着她的毕业论文和答辩。一天，一个名叫韦德（本杰明·布拉特 Benjamin Bratt 饰）的探员找到了凯蒂，命令他协助调查，调查的对象是凯蒂的前男友埃姆雷（查理·汉纳姆 Charlie Hunnam 饰），他在某一日忽然失踪，从此再也没有过音信。　　埃姆雷的出现让凯蒂十分的困扰，因为她再也分不出多余的精力去应付这个缠人的男人了。与此同时，埃姆雷也有着自己的烦恼，他刚刚只好自己的酒精成瘾症，而这次的案件是他证明自己在警队中的能力的唯一机会了。

　　Set in an uncanny future — or perhaps a slightly alternate present where cellphone technology is nowhere to be found — Anna and her partner Ryan have achieved every couple’s dream: they are in possession of a document certifying their true love. Their comfortable if somewhat mundane life, however, leaves Anna questioning their successful love test, administered by placing their extracted fingernails into a cutting-edge machine. Anna soon begins working for the Love Institute under the tutelage of Duncan (Luke Wilson), which, in addition to determining a couples’ status via the mysterious test, trains them to deepen bonds. There, she’s paired with the experienced — and devastatingly charming — Amir to take couples at various stages of relationships through a series of love-building activities before the big test. As the new colleagues work to ameliorate the connections of clients, Anna begins to wonder if perhaps Amir is her one true love and if trusting her own feelings is a more reliable metric than what is determined by a machine.

　　我们每天都在讨论该如何生活，如何使自己过得更开心。这部片子的导演也在探讨。一伙朋友在小酒馆里讨论该如何面对生活，他们将所有态度浓缩成两个极端，哭或者笑。　　他们假设了这样一个叫美莲达（拉达•米契尔 Radha Mitchell 饰）的女人的故事：美莲达有一个幸福的家庭，一对儿女。但是她偏偏出轨了，被丈夫起诉离婚，儿女都判给了丈夫。当她满怀憧憬准备与情人开始新生活时，情人也抛弃了她。愤怒的美莲达杀了情人，被法院认定患有精神分裂，无罪释放。只是，她连探视儿女的权利也失去了。　　美莲达的故事还在继续，只是由两个代表不同态度的朋友分别再开始讲述……