From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe actionthe actionSTORYthe events in a story, film, play etcMost of the action takes place in San Francisco.The action opens (=starts) in a barbershop. →actionExamples from the Corpusthe action takes place• Obviously the toppanel is where all the action takes place.• All the action takes place in Sevilla, although we find differentspots within the same city.