Inspired by Pinter's clandestine extramarital affair with BBC Television presenter Joan Bakewell, which occurred for seven years, the plot of Betrayal exposes different permutations of betrayal and kinds of betrayals occurring over a period of nine years, relating to a seven-year affair involving a married couple, Emma and Robert, and Robert's close friend Jerry, who is also married, to a woman named Judith. For five years Jerry and Emma carry on their affair without Robert's knowledge, both cuckolding Robert and betraying Judith, until Emma, without telling Jerry she has done so, admits her infidelity to Robert (in effect, betraying Jerry), although she continues their affair. Four years after exposing the affair  and two years after their subsequent break up, Emma meets with Jerry to tell him that her marriage to Robert is over. She then lies to Jerry in telling him that, last night, she had to reveal the truth to Robert and that he now knows of the affair. The truth however, is that Robert has known about the affair for the past four years.