Dr. Rachel Lindsay (Kate Jackson), a horse therapist working with autistic children, is struggling with her loveless marriage to Paul (Art Hindle), a building contractor, while raising their two daughters Sylvie (Tori McPetrie) and Livy (Kristin Fairlie) almost by herself. When young Steven Harvott (Kevin Zegers) starts taking lessons at her stable, she finds herself falling in love with his recently-divorced father Michael (Robert Desiderio).
The Silence of Adultery contains examples of:
- And Starring: …and Robert Desiderio as Michael Harvott.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Rachel and Paul went to kindergarten together. Their parents were friends and pushed them together, so they hated each other until their hormones kicked in.
- Comforting Comforter: When Rachel visits the Harvott family home, she sees Steven asleep in his bed and pulls a blanket over him.
- Daddy Didn't Show: Paul at first, and later Rachel as she starts putting more time and energy into the affair. Once she forgets to pick up Livy from school; Livy is terrified, thinking she died in a car accident.
- Flowers of Romance: After their first kiss, Rachel tries to avoid Michael, leading him to send flowers to her office.
- Follow Your Heart: Rachel tells Michael to "listen to your heart" while trying to understand Steven. Later, Michael repeats her advice before they have sex.
- Married to the Job: Paul never has time to pick up the kids or emotionally support Rachel because he's always busy with a deal.
- No-Tell Motel: The Hillcrest Motel, the site of all Michael and Rachel's trysts after the first, where they rent for three hours at a time.
- Parental Abandonment: Michael's ex-wife Yvonne essentially abandoned Steven after the divorce, apparently finding him too difficult to deal with. Now her only interaction with him consists of sending postcards of animals. Michael is struggling now because Yvonne was better at reading Steven's body language than he is.
- Punch a Wall: Rachel takes out her frustration with Paul by punching a file cabinet, right as Michael walks into the room for their first meeting. He later tells her that this led to Love at First Sight because he knew she was a passionate woman.
- Shower of Love: Attempted by Paul early in the movie, but Rachel has to get ready quickly so she can get to a meeting.
- Tantrum Throwing: Implied. When Rachel arrives at the Harvott house after Steven has had a massive meltdown, everything has been knocked over and there are plants smashed on the floor.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Michael feels that Steven's autism is a penance for marrying Yvonne, who he knew was the wrong person, and sometimes finds it "very difficult" to love him.
