The Women tells the story of Mary Haines (Meg Ryan), a clothing designer who seems to have it all a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father s venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler (Annette Bening), leads another enviable life a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York s cutting edge. But when Mary s husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes), a sultry spritzer girl lurking behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie s relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen (Debra Messing) and author Alex Fisher (Jada Pinkett-Smith), all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships as well.