Set in 1970s Germany, Leopold [Bernard Giraudeau], a 50-year-old businessman, seduces 20-year-old Franz [Malik Zidi]. They fall deeply in love and move in together. The rest of the movie focuses on the emotional turmoil that both endure as they grow apart, bickering over things of little importance. A twist halfway through the story adds a chaotic comic element, as Franz and Leopold are joined by their ex-girlfriends. WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS was adapted by writer/director Francois Ozon from a play called Tropfen Auf Heisse Steine that was written by Rainer Werner Fassbinder when he was 19 years old, but was never before produced.