Four people meet on New Year's Eve, and form a surrogate family to help one another with the difficulties of their lives.
On New Year's Eve in London, four strangers find themselves on the roof of a building known for suicides. Martin is a famous talk show host just out of jail, Maureen is a lonely single mother, Jess is young, reckless and heartbroken, and JJ is an American realizing the failures in his life. Through mutual pain and humour, this unlikely group take the long way down and figure out what will keep them alive until Valentine's Day, one step at a time.—Anne Campbell
Martin Sharp (Pierce Brosnan) is contemplating suicide on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Toppers Building, high above London's streets. Maritn is the man who apparently has everything, 1 wife, 2 children, 3 dogs, and 4 people's choice awards, and 5 mornings a week on the most successful morning TV show in Britain. He met Suzy Jenkins at the launch of a new men's moisturizer. As she was underage, Martin's brief fling with her led to a prison sentence. His wife divorced him, and he was fired from his TV show. His life had come to a full stop, and he believed ending it was the only option in front of him.He is interrupted by a woman, Maureen (Toni Collette), who has the same fate in mind. She shyly offers to wait her turn, until two other strangers, a young woman named Jess (Imogen Poots) and a pizza deliverer called J.J. (Aaron Paul), also turn up.
The suicide attempt botched; Martin beats a hasty retreat from the roof as it starts to rain. As he decides to go back home, he finds Maureen waiting for the bus, Jess walking in the rain, and JJ trying to start his moped. One by one, he picks each one of them up.
Jess is a drug addict and has been in a relationship with a complete loser Chaz who is using her for money & access to drugs. Jess is the daughter of a politician minister Crichton (Sam Neill) (who is the shadow education secretary) and their relationship is strained.Martin is recognized by the others, having been a popular television personality before going to prison for a relationship with a girl who turned out to be 15.Maureen has a disabled son Matty whom she adores, but little life beyond that herself.J.J. is an American who once played in a band, but while his three new acquaintances are Suicidally depressed, he is terminally ill with brain cancer which is inoperable. Or so he says.
Martin drops Jess as she goes to confront Chaz, but then Maureen says that it was not the best idea to leave Jess alone and they all go back to pick her up. They find Chaz, who says that Jess has already chased him out of multiple clubs that night. The trio find Jess in the back of an ambulance, being taken to a hospital.When Jess regains consciousness, she says that she took some pills by accident and that she was not trying to overdose herself.
After talking things over, the four strangers form a pact, vowing to wait at least until Valentine's Day before taking their lives.
Jess's pact with Martin & the others gets into the papers. Jess and Martin reckon it was Chaz who sold their story to the papers. This causes great embarrassment for Jess's father. Jess's sister Jeniffer also disappeared 2 years ago & Jess is hounded by the press about her plans for suicide.
The gang gathers at Maureen's home.To profit from misfortune, Martin hatches a scheme that makes them the talk of London, claiming their mass suicide was interrupted by a vision of an angel that looked like Matt Damon. Each person in the group is in desperate need for money and agrees to the plan.They end up on his old TV chat show, where Martin's former co-host Penny (Rosamund Pike) makes her guests feel humiliated and even more depressed. Penny alleges that Jess was driven to suicide as she was in some way responsible for Jennifer's disappearance. JJ admits to Jess in private that he doesn't have cancer and that it just came out & he couldn't take it back. The real reason why JJ wanted to kill himself is not made very clear.
The four go off to a vacation resort to get away from London's attention. They enjoy each other's company. Maureen feels that the hotel is the height of luxury, but it is the cheapest hotel that Martin ever stayed in. This was also the first time Maureen ever got on a flight.At least until a confession by one of them and the intervention of a reporter named Kathy (Tuppence Middleton) drives them apart.JJ hooks up with Kathy at the resort, & this angers Jess as she feels that she was in some kind of a relationship with JJ. JJ confesses to a fellow vacationer Kathy (who seemed interested in JJ) about his lie of being a cancer patient and of being in a pact with the other 3. He later finds from Jess that Kathy is a reporter.JJ confesses to everyone about his lies, but Martin flies off the handle & hits JJ and a big brawl breaks out.
Matty (Josef Altin), Maureen's son, has a heart attack but recovers. Jess and Martin visit Maureen in the hospital but J.J. can't be contacted. They realize it's Valentine's Day and that their pact has ended. All four end up back in London on the very same rooftop with the other three coaxing J.J. off the edge successfully.
On the New Year's Eve of that year, they video call each other. Martin is looking after his daughter, Maureen is enjoying herself at a New Year's party, and J.J. and Jess are in a happy relationship.
