Margaret goes about her daily routine at the arts centre in a small town in Leitrim, delivering keys to a ballet instructor, ordering coffee, and doing office work. After work, she visits her friend Anna's garden, intending to tell her about meeting Ivan the previous weekend. She begins to steer the conversation toward the chess event but ultimately cannot bring herself to share what happened between her and Ivan. She considers telling other friends but concludes none would be the ideal confidant. Driving home to her rented cottage outside town, Margaret reflects on her solitary life—eating alone, washing up, calling her mother about a dishwasher, and the lingering presence of her ex-husband Ricky Fitzpatrick in her mother's conversations.

That same night, Ivan is in his Dublin flat trying to find somewhere to foster his dog Alexei, who is currently staying with his mother's boyfriend in Skerries and whom his mother wants removed. He reflects on his sense of alienation from social systems and contrasts himself with his brother Peter, who navigates the world effortlessly. His flatmate Roland startles him, and Ivan retreats to his room, where he receives a phone call from Margaret. They speak warmly and flirtatiously; Ivan tells her she's beautiful and asks to see her again. Margaret hesitates, citing their different life stages, but Ivan gently persists, suggesting they could just talk. Despite her reservations, she agrees.

On Saturday night, Margaret waits anxiously in a car park for Ivan's bus from Dublin, worrying about being seen. Ivan arrives, and she drives him to her cottage. During the drive, they have a long, candid conversation about work: Ivan explains his freelance data analysis, his brief stint as a delivery cyclist, his ideas about economic throughput from his physics background, and his ambivalence about employment. Margaret shares that she's the programme director at the arts centre. At the cottage, they talk about their mothers and families—Ivan reveals his mother's preference for her stepchildren and her criticism of his lack of a job, even at his father's funeral. Margaret shares her own difficult relationship with her mother. Their emotional intimacy deepens, and they kiss.

They sleep together, and Ivan reflects on the experience as profoundly different from any previous sexual encounter—a mutual desire and understanding he has never known. Afterwards, Margaret opens up about her failed marriage to Ricky, admitting her life feels senseless. She cries in Ivan's arms, and he comforts her with unexpected calm and tenderness. The next morning, they talk about chess, make love again, and go walking along the laneway behind the cottage. They witness a murmuration of starlings. Ivan's phone rings—it's Peter, who was waiting at a restaurant for their Sunday lunch. Ivan apologizes and Peter, realizing Ivan is with someone, tells him to enjoy himself. Margaret asks what Peter would think about their age difference and her past marriage, and Ivan reassures her. They walk on together through the countryside in silence and cold bright light.