A family weekend is fraught with emotional landmines for mercurial and sensitive Lynn as she arrives at her parents' Annapolis estate for the marriage of her estranged eldest son Dylan, accompanied by her three younger children. Lynn's hopes for a joyful reunion are crushed as her wry but troubled middle son Elliot lobs verbal grenades at his mother and her relatives while daughter Alice (Kate Bosworth), a fights valiantly to keep her longtime demons under control. The weekend quickly unravels as Lynn demands to be heard by her aloof, disdainful mother, ailing, distant father and ever-judgmental sisters, but most especially by her ex-husband Paul and his hot-tempered second wife Patty.