Tom Guthrie (Aidan Quinn) is a high school teacher whose wife has been suffering from severe depression. When she leaves to try to regain her mental health, Tom must care for their two young sons and eventually open himself up to the possibility of new love.

Maggie Jonas (Rachel Griffiths) also teaches high school. Divorced and caring for her aging father, Maggie fights emotional loneliness. When one of her students gets pregnant, Maggie involves herself in the teenager's life. She also tries to start a relationship with fellow teacher Tom Guthrie, knowing that Tom needs to work out the complications in his life.

Victoria Roubideaux (America Ferrera) is a rebellious teenager who has never gotten along with her mother. When Victoria gets pregnant and is abandoned by her boyfriend, her mother throws her out of the house. With nowhere else to go, she accepts Maggie Jonas' proposal to stay with two old bachelor brothers on a nearby ranch, and the three of them make an unlikely family.