The Good Lover tells the story of Karl Astuson, whose love life consists of a string of meaningless affairs; the only woman who came close to his 'perfect' mother was his first and only love Una, who left a void within Karl that he seems unable to fill. Impulsively and uncharacteristically, he travels back to Reykjavik and wins her over. But before they have the chance to live out their happy ending, Karl's womanizing past catches up with him when an ex immortalizes him in a novel as 'the good lover'.