On a Friday night in Nottingham, Russell attends a house party. He assures best friend Jamie that he will be there on Sunday for Jamie's daughter's birthday. Russell leaves early, deciding to go to a gay club for a hookup. He meets Glen, an art student, and they have sex at Russell's apartment. The next morning, Glen coaxes Russell to speak into a voice recorder about the previous night, for an art project. The more reserved Russell is taken aback by Glen's blunt discussion of sex. After Russell finishes, they exchange numbers before Glen leaves. Russell writes about Glen on his laptop, something he does after each of his encounters.

Russell spends a lonely morning working as a lifeguard. He texts Glen, who agrees to meet. The two learn about each other, and share a bicycle ride back to Russell's flat, where they continue discovering more about each other's pasts. Glen explains that his art project seeks to explore the gap between who people are and who they want to be, as demonstrated by the personas they assume when hooking up with someone for the first time. Russell reveals that he never came out to his parents because he does not know who they are; he grew up in foster homes with Jamie.

Before leaving, Glen discloses that he is moving to Oregon the next day to attend a two-year art course. On a whim, Glen invites Russell to his goodbye party at a straight bar that night, and Russell decides to attend. While Glen gets into an argument about heteronormativity with the bar owner, Russell chats with Jill, Glen's flatmate. She tells Russell that she never got to listen to his recording; Glen let her listen to all of his others. She then tells Russell that she and her friends do not expect Glen to travel to America, to the point that they started a bet. She also discloses that Glen was in a relationship with someone named John, who cheated on Glen repeatedly and was attacked at a park shortly before the relationship ended. Since then, Glen has said he "doesn't do boyfriends."

Russell and Glen ditch Glen's friends and go to a carnival. Glen admits he feels like his friends hold him back. They return to Russell's apartment and smoke marijuana, drink alcohol, and snort cocaine.

Russell confesses that he records his experiences, albeit more privately. He reads some of his entries to Glen, and it is revealed that one of the men Russell slept with was John. They begin arguing about the motivations for the fight for gay marriage given Glen's anti-relationship stance. Russell tells Glen that he thinks Glen only lost faith in relationships because of John. Glen tells him it is not that simple; while he thinks Russell would make an amazing boyfriend, he does not currently want one. Russell is upset and goes to the bathroom. He returns and they reconcile, passionately making love that night.

On Sunday morning, Russell reveals how self-conscious he feels in public about being gay. Glen deduces that Russell keeps a record of his encounters because he is fascinated by how people come out. Glen pretends to be Russell's father, giving Russell the opportunity to come out. Glen notes that he is leaving by train that afternoon, while Russell has Jamie's daughter's birthday party to attend. Russell searches for the right way to say goodbye, but Glen leaves after kissing him.

At the party, Russell attempts to stay interested, but is clearly distracted. Jamie persuades Russell to talk about what is on his mind, though they do not usually talk about this part of Russell's life. After Russell explains, Jamie takes Russell to the train station, where he finds Glen.

As the two wait for Glen's train, Russell struggles to convey how much their encounter meant to him. They kiss in public, notable for the usually restrained Russell. Glen gives Russell a present, and with one last kiss, Glen leaves. Later, looking out from his apartment window, Russell opens the present to find the voice recorder that Glen used to record Russell. He hears himself begin to recount the events of the weekend.