France, mid-70s: The American writer Roland and his beautiful wife Vanessa spend the summer in a quiet, picturesque seaside resort. While spending time with other vacationers, such as the newlywed couple Lea and François and the locals Michel and Patrice, the couple begins to face the unresolved problems of their own lives. A journey on which they feel close to each other again. Both stylistically and in its approach to the representation of human emotions and behaviors, "BY THE SEA" is inspired by European cinema and theater of the 60s and 70s.