The story follows a filmmaker (Mathieu Amalric) whose life is sent into a tailspin by the return of a former lover (Marion Cotillard as Carlotta) just as he is about to embark on the shoot of a new film.
During the 2006 Northern Ireland peace talks, Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) and Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) are forced to travel by car together.