"Vicky" (Rebecca Hall) is the more sensible and realistic of the friends. "Cristina" (Scarlett Johansson) tends to fly more by the seat of he pants - and both have come to the lively and vibrant city of Barcelona for an holiday. Almost immediately then encounter the typically mischievous painter "Juan Antonio" (Javier Bardem) who invites them for a weekend at his. Initially this story rather goes as we might expect, but the emergence of his ex-wife "Maria Elena" (Penêlope Cruz) and "Doug" (Chris Messina) who's the rather nice but dim boyfriend of "Vicky" now provides us with all the ingredients...