Stricken with A.I.D.S., Anthony's life has become a myriad of endless symptoms and hopeless desperation.
With the help of his lover and caretaker, Thomas and friend, Susanah, Anthony seeks the guidance of an understanding doctor who will put an end to his suffering. He finds Doctor Chapman, a retired surgeon, who is, at first, unwilling, but is soon persuaded by Anthony's sympathetic charm and dignity to assist in the mercy killing. When Anthony acquires the pills and sets the day for his suicide, Dr. Chapman devises a medical plan that must be meticulously followed. Suddenly realising that Dr. Chapman could be convicted of murder, Susanah insists that he not be involved and soon the doctor is left to confront his own misconceptions of life and death, law and medicine.
They all wait helplessly until the hour of Anthony's planned suicide, comforted only by the hope that the wishes of a terminally ill friend will be fulfilled, but as the time comes and passes, all their wishes and plans are swept aside by a force that proves stronger than any of their desires or decisions.