As pilot Greg steers an airliner through the thinning atmosphere from London to New York, the life stories of its crew members slowly unravel: Greg begins to feel the pressures of age, and his heart, while Dan, the young first officer, wriggles under his girlfriend's pressure to marry. Selina, recently promoted to cabin manager, realises she's petrified, and not only of flying. Becky can't decide whether her engagement to another first officer is a terrible mistake or not and Nigel, knowing his mother is dying, trembles on the brink of sexual liberation. The crew's anxieties come to a head when they have a wild party down route in Manhattan, the repercussions of which will haunt the journey home until they can be contained no further, revealing deep scars, strange attractions, and an overwhelming need to find a place they can each call home.