Gilles asks Pauline out and, to his surprise, she agrees. They have no idea what they will do - they only know that they are mesmerised by each other. Pauline is young, beautiful, pregnant and happily married, while Gilles is much older and in the throes of a painful divorce. Despite the affairs that Gilles has had, he still loves his wife, until he sees Pauline waiting for her son outside the school gates...

Meanwhile, a parallel gathering is taking place: their circle of mutual friends is meeting at the sports club. Ferney carefully charts the progress of this fateful evening, describing the nuances of the characters with such subtlety and precision that you become completely absorbed in the flow of their emotions.

'The Lovers is an accomplished examination of love.' The Times