A middle-aged woman, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, returns to her small Massachusetts hometown for the funeral of the housekeeper who raised her and finds herself thrust into the lives of the people she left behind.

Grumpy Gail refuses to allow her visiting cousin Claire to play with her toys or sit in her favorite chair, until her mother teaches Gail about sharing.

Natalie and her daughter Sara share the most intimate details of their lives. But when Sara's life is tragically cut short by a car accident, Natalie's grief is compounded by a shocking discovery: she may not have known her daughter after all. Determined to unlock the secrets of her daughter's heart, Natalie retreats to the ramshackle beach house where Sara spent her summers and camps out with Sara's friends, including longtime childhood pal Adam....

A daughter Ellen, gives up her job and boyfriend to take care of her dying mother. Her father, a gifted professor of an English department, is more occupied with having his life running as smoothly as possible than caring for his wife. Living at home, Ellen discovers many new aspects to her parents' personalities, a father who is human despite his imperfections and a mother who loves her family passionately. When her mother finally dies Ellen is suspected...