On the surface, Pippa Lee (ROBIN WRIGHT) leads the perfect life. A shining example of female equanimity, she stands by her husband of 30 years, the successful publisher Herb Lee (ALAN ARKIN), is the proud mother of two children and a loyal friend and confidante to her companions. But when she and Herb move to a chic retirement resort in Connecticut, Pippa develops a strange sleeping disorder - and the idyllic façade she has built up for herself and her life over the course of her marriage is put to the test. In fact, the equally elegant and controlled mother can look back on a more than eventful past, which includes escapades of an erotic nature (JULIANNE MOORE in a brief appearance as a dominatrix) as well as an unconventional mother (MARIA BELLO) who embellishes her life as a housewife with pills, and the theatrically staged suicide of an eccentric rival (MONICA BELLUCCI). Supported by Chris (KEANU REEVES), a new attractive acquaintance from the neighborhood, she has to face these turbulent memories as well as the long-suppressed needs of her everyday life today - for Pippa a bittersweet search for her true self.