Part I

Phinneas, a thief, sits next to an older man at a bar in Hell. Phinneas is exuberant, since his day of vacation on the surface is coming soon, an event which only happens once in a century. Phinneas offers the other man a drink as he picks his pocket. The man then laments his eternal punishment; alcohol has no effect on him in Hell. While alive, he was drunk and numb to the suffering of his victims. In Hell, he feels terrible remorse for all his crimes yet alcohol provides no relief. The two men reflect on their fate, and their only source of comfort – a day of vacation on the surface awaiting them at the end of a century.

Anna, a young woman, is sitting at her counter in a village on the surface filled with dead visitors on their day off. She has been sitting there and waiting on customers for 100 days after her father died and left her alone. As she fantasizes about some of the handsome but condemned men that occasionally walk into her store, Phinneas enters the shop. Dazzled the beauty of the sights and smells he encounters, he then lays his eyes on Anna.  He tries to speak to her, but she does not speak his language (*note the convention of the opera is that they both speak English, though it is clear in action and text that they do not understand each other). Phinneas remembers that in Hell everyone speaks the language of the damned, but here on Earth everyone has a different language. Instead, Phinneas offers Anna jewelry and money, which he stole. Anna recognizes her father’s marking the bill that was stolen from the old man at the bar. Anna realizes that Phinneas met her father in Hell. Despite the fact that they can’t understand each other, they are drawn to the sound of each other’s voices and the longing and loneliness therein. They kiss. Anna leads Phinneas to her bedroom at the rear part of the store.

Part II

Anna and Phinneas lie in bed in the morning. Phinneas is extremely distraught about his inability to function in bed and Anna tries to calm him down. They try to introduce themselves to each other officially, but they can only understand each other’s names.  So Anna repeats their names, saying “Anna, Phinneas” over and over again. While she happily repeats their names to herself, Phinneas tries in vain to explain to Anna that his time is up. Finally, he leaves. Anna, surprised and distraught, runs out of the store to find him, but he is gone.

Back in Hell, The Father’s newly-found emotions turn to physical pain. His agony grows more sever as Anna’s voice drifts down to his chamber, and he listens to her cursing his memory. Anna prays to God at the Church, asking for Phinneas to come back from the dead. The organ starts to play a curious old hymn that remind the father of Anna as a little girl. He decides that he must give his day off to Phinneas, not only so that his daughter can be happy, but also so that he could finally find some relief for his soul.

Part III

Before going up to the surface again, Phinneas makes a smoky, fizzy spritzer. Anna is amazed to see Phinneas again, and as she drinks the Spritzer she remembers their last night together, which was five years ago on the day. After they finally consummate their relationship, Anna tells Phinneas that she is now married and has a baby. Her husband is dull and her life is duller, and she still feels just as imprisoned as before.  When she saw Phinneas again, she made the decision to commit adultery to be with him again.  Phinneas, who still doesn’t understand her, imagines her as a virginal innocent he is corrupting.  But a strange thing starts happening—they begin to understand each other.  Anna is choosing damnation and Hell for herself so she can be with Phinneas. Phinneas decides he needs to leave before she is permanently condemned. Anna tries to stop Phinneas, but he escapes.

Phinneas returns to Hell and runs into Anna’s Father. The Father accuses Phinneas of tricking him into giving Phinneas his day off.  Phinneas defends himself, swearing that he left because he wanted to save Anna from eternal damnation. Meanwhile, Anna is walking beyond her village and sees the gates of Hell. She cannot see into Hell, but Phinneas and her father can hear her voice. They try to warn her away, but Anna cannot hear their voices from beyond the gates. Anna puts her head to the grounds, trying to hear Phinneas, but the damned souls screaming in agony sound just like the waves of the ocean to her. She approaches the empty gates and yells into them, asking Phinneas for guidance. The men beg her not to go any further.  Anna pauses, trying to decide whether to go back to family and duty or whether to follow her passion. As Anna prepares to pass into the afterlife, the scene ends and we are left to wonder if Anna followed Phinneas or stayed at the village.