Wealthy Los Angelino Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn) has three daughters who seem to have nothing in common with each other or even Jane: married thirtysomething Michelle (Catherine Keener); Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), an aspiring actress in her twenties; and adopted African-American eight-year-old Annie (Raven Goodwin). When Michelle's husband complains about her not working, she first tries her hand at selling her art and then gets a job at a photography shop, where she begins an affair with her 17-year-old boss Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal). Meanwhile, Elizabeth worries about her love-life and her career, looks after some stray dogs, and goes out on a date with popular actor Kevin McCabe (Dermot Mulroney). For her part, Annie starts faking her death in the swimming pool, and as for Jane, she suffers complications after a liposuction operation. Despite all this, the family somehow manages to keep going.