Harley’s book takes a practical approach in helping husbands and wives look for and provide what the other needs in marriage. He begins with the question, “How affair-proof is your marriage?”   This question provokes couples to consider the current status of their marriage.  He drives home the fact that all marriages are unique, but that there are critical emotional needs that should be met within every marriage in order for it to be healthy.  If these needs are not met within marriage, couples will become vulnerable to having those needs met outside of marriage.  Harley shows how unmet needs lead to affairs. He challenges all couples to remember, “It could happen to you.”

After identifying the problem in many marriages, and showing why all marriages should take these needs seriously, Harley describes the importance of the “love bank.”  The love bank is a storehouse of emotional and physical needs.   Deposits and withdrawals are constantly being made in relationships, and Dr. Harley identifies specific deposits that must consistently be made by spouses.  He shares two essentials that men and women, “Can’t do without”:

1) Affection for wives

2) Sexual fulfillment for husbands.

While the other needs are intertwined and important, these two needs usually rise to the top when evaluating what men and women find essential in marriage.