Special Theory of Relativity is nonlinear romantic drama in the vein of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Annie Hall exploring the persistence of love over time in a relationship between two scientists. When paleontologist Milton Burbank's new wife Lucy Lee (a physicist) begins receiving cutting-edge cancer treatment, an insurance investigator forces Milton to ask himself whether Lucy really married him for love, and whether love persist through time. The main characters' scientific interests mirror the thematic questions raised by the story: Milton, as a paleontologist, sees the richness of ancient forests where only deserts remain, just like his lost relationship with Lucy, while physicist Lucy uses Einstein's model of space-time to imagine the permanence of each moment.