A hip, 25-year-old New York editor is about to return to her midwestern hometown, steeled for a visit with her larger-than-life über-mom, and steadfast in her commitment to avoiding a staid family life of husband and 2.5 children by age 29. That is until her boyfriend turns up by surprise, and sets in motion a chain of events that will cause her to see past her mother's facade of designer clothes and country club lunches to the pain of a woman caught in a rocky marriage, and give her mother an understanding of the life she equipped her daughter to choose.