In summer 2011, in an upscale apartment on New York’s Upper East side, Emily (who’s white) sketches a portrait of her husband Amir (who’s South Asian). She’s painting him in the image of a Diego Velázquez painting of his former slave, dressed to show that he’s now rich—though Amir finds it unsettling that Emily is portraying him this way. Amir, who’s a high-powered attorney, takes a work call while he poses for Emily. He imagines himself making partner and seeing his name above the firm’s door—even if that name is “Kapoor” instead of his real last name.
Amir’s nephew Abe arrives at the apartment. Abe changed his name from Hussein to Abe Jensen to make his life easier after he moved to the United States. Now, he wants Amir to help Imam Fareed, a Muslim cleric who’s been wrongfully charged with funding the terrorist organization Hamas with the charity money he collected for his mosque. Emily urges Amir to help, which agitates him. Amir doesn’t think much of Islam—he tells Emily and Abe about a time when his mother spat on him because he had a crush on a Jewish girl at school. This led Amir to spit on the girl the next time he saw her. He thinks that he was right to renounce his faith years ago. Emily says that Imam Fareed needs his own people around him, but Amir doesn’t feel like one of those people.
Two weeks later, Emily reads aloud from a newspaper article that quotes Amir as supporting Imam Fareed. The newspaper article makes it sound like Amir was legally representing the imam, even though he was only commenting on the case. Amir is distraught that this article will threaten his career, but Emily thinks he’s overreacting. Amir angrily leaves the room and slams around their bedroom. Just then, an art curator named Isaac arrives to look at Emily’s paintings, many of which feature Islamic patterns. Isaac originally suggested that it was inappropriate for a non-Muslim person to use Islamic imagery, but he changed his mind after reading a review praising Emily’s work. However, he still thinks that people will accuse her of Orientalism (depicting non-Western cultures in a patronizing, exploitative way).
Three months later, Amir is drinking on the apartment terrace as he seethes with anger. Suddenly, he throws his glass on the ground, smashing it. When Emily asks what’s wrong, he tells her that his boss read the newspaper article, ran a background check on Amir, and discovered that Amir’s changed his last name from Abdullah (an Arabic Muslim name) to Kapoor (an Indian Hindu name). Amir is terrified about his future at the firm, but Emily still thinks that Amir is being ridiculous.
In the middle of this conversation, Isaac and his wife Jory (Amir’s work colleague) arrive early for a dinner party. Isaac shares the news that he’s going to feature Emily’s art in his show—he thinks that her use of Islamic patterns is innovative and important, and that she has a bright future ahead. Amir prefers Emily’s earlier work, which didn’t use Islamic imagery, but Isaac doesn’t think that’s a lucrative direction for Emily’s career.
The conversation pivots to Isaac’s upcoming trip to India, and Amir admits that he finds airport security awful. He usually volunteers to be searched to avoid being racially profiled. Emily thinks that the authorities are trying hard not to be racist, and she and Isaac scold Amir for being passive-aggressive. Isaac says that the problem isn’t Islam itself, but its political agenda. Amir, growing agitated, asks Isaac if he’s ever read the Qur’an. Isaac hasn’t. Amir thinks that Islam condones wife-beating and other problematic values (though Emily disagrees, scolding Amir again). The group then discusses the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Amir admits that a small part of him intuitively sympathizes with the terrorists, which he hates—that’s why he’s distanced himself from Islam. When Amir leaves the room, Isaac accuses him of secretly being a terrorist.
Amir and Jory decide to head out to get some champagne, to lighten the mood. While they’re gone, Isaac tells Emily that the law firm promoted Jory to partner instead of Amir, because the newspaper article made them suspicious about Amir’s dealings with the Muslim community. Isaac wonders why Amir would ever speak out in support of a Muslim cleric. Crushed, Emily admits that she made Amir do it. While they talk, Isaac makes several moves to touch Emily, and they allude to having had sex on a recent trip they took to London. Isaac urges Emily to leave Amir; he sees him as the slave in Emily’s portrait, an outsider who’s trying to have “his master’s wife.”
Isaac moves in to kiss Emily just as Jory and Amir return—and Jory is enraged to see them embracing. Amir, meanwhile, has just learned that he was passed over for the promotion, and he’s shouting at Jory. Isaac aggressively insults Amir, and Amir spits in Isaac’s face. Isaac tells Amir that “you people” are “animals,” and he and Jory storm out. Emily admits to Amir that she slept with Isaac, but she regrets it. In a blind fit of rage that releases years of pent-up resentment, Amir hits Emily in the face. Suddenly, he realizes what he’s done, just as Abe walks in to see Emily on the floor, her face bloody.
Six months later, Amir has lost both his job and his marriage. Emily and Abe arrive as he’s packing up the apartment. Abe has changed his name back to Hussein—and he’s currently in trouble with the law. Recently, he was in a coffee shop when his friend Tariq annoyed a barista. She noticed the men’s Muslim skullcaps and heard them talking about Muslim oppression, so she called the police. The police arrested Hussein and Tariq, and the FBI interrogated both of them, threatening to deport them. Amir scolds Hussein for being so reckless and publicly portraying himself as Muslim. Hussein tells Amir that he used to look up to him, but now he thinks that Amir just hates his own people. He leaves.
Once Amir and Emily are alone, Amir repeatedly apologizes to her. He’s read reviews of her new show, and he’s proud of her success. Emily interjects that her art was naïve, and that she had a part in their marriage collapsing too. She asks Amir not to contact her again and leaves. Suddenly, Amir notices a wrapped canvas leaning against the wall—it’s Emily’s portrait of him. He unwraps the painting and gazes at it intently.
