Layla refuses to get married because she believes all men are liars especially after her sister's tragic suicide on her wedding day when her fiancé left her. Layla's father decides to put an end to her stubbornness and sends a letter that explains her problem to Ahmed who works as an editor for the local newspaper. His friend Kamal, a womanizer wants to settle down and find a wife. Ahmed suggests that Kamal should meet with Layla and ask for her hand in marriage, and both of them get engaged. When Layla discovers more on Kamal's past, she breaks off the engagement and the problems commence.

Laila marries Ali but she suffers from his rigidity. They move to a secluded house in Alexandria. But Laila lives in boredom as her husband frequently travel to Cairo. She then gets attacked by three men who sexually assault her.

Ahmed Saad is a businessmen who has many affairs, because his wife Fahima neglects herself and takes care of her home only. Ahmed meets artist Suzy and promises to marry. When his son Zaki finds out ,he sacrifices himself and marries her in order to stabilize the house and gives up his fiancee.

Hamida dreams of studying at the faculty of commerce and live her life like any ordinary girl, but her narrow minded father wants her to stay at home and wait for her future husband. With the help of her boyfriend Hassan, who is a medical student he arranges for her to disguise herself as a man after lying to her father that his daughter had undergone a procedure and became a male.

Set against the backdrop of the 1967 Six-Day War, the movie adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz's novel follows the escapist, drug-fueled riverboat meetings of a group of frustrated Egyptians from various walks of life.