In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold (Glenn Close) has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul (Joshua Jackson), and neglects her daughter (Jessica Campbell) and husband (Robert Klein). Lawyer Jim Train (Dermot Mulroney) is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson (Mary Kay Place) wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings (Patricia Clarkson) tries to rebuild hers.