In a luxury spa hotel in the Swiss Alps, octogenarian friends Fred Ballinger and Mick Boyle look back on their eventful and successful lives as composer and film director, surrounded by a host of colourful and eccentric fellow guests.

But despite the tranquil setting, trouble is brewing. Fred's daughter and Mick's son are having marital problems, and both men, without knowing it, are entering a critical stage in their careers - for it is never too late to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.