Who is estranged from his wife?
Sarah Pierce is a hapless, stay-at-home mother in a small suburb of Boston. She had been working on a doctorate in English, but set aside her work to marry Richard, and raise their 3-year-old daughter, Lucy. Her marriage falls apart when she discovers that Richard is addicted to online pornography. Sarah meets Brad Adamson, a law student who brings his 4-year-old son, Aaron, to the park. Brad is married to Kathy, and although their marriage is loving and amicable, it has been lacking intimacy.
When Brad is supposed to be studying for the bar exam, he instead plays on a local football team or sits and watches teenagers skateboard outside his house, fantasizing about being young and carefree again. Brad and Sarah become friendly and, on a dare, kiss in the park, scandalizing the other park parents. They are instantly attracted to each other, but resolve to keep their relationship platonic. One day, several parents panic when they see sex offender Ronnie J. McGorvey, who was recently released from prison, swimming in the pool with the children. After Ronnie is escorted away by the police, it begins to rain.
Sarah and Brad take Lucy and Aaron back to her house and put the kids to bed. Brad looks at one of Sarah's books and finds a photo of him in it. While Sarah is drying towels in her basement, Brad kisses her and they have sex. Brad's friend, Larry Hedges, is a former police officer who was forced to retire when he accidentally shot a teenager at a local mall. Now he is estranged from his wife and spends much of his time harassing Ronnie. Ronnie lives with his mother, May, who believes that meeting a woman his own age would cure him of his pedophilia. Ronnie knows this is futile, but agrees to go on a date May has arranged for him with a woman named Sheila.
Larry Hedges