Agnes, in the midst of a struggle to overcome her own self destructive behavior, returns to Sydney, Nova Scotia from Toronto because of the failing health of her mother, Rose. She is met by her older sister Theresa, a devout Catholic who has recently been dumped by her husband for a younger woman, and by Louise, the middle child who has retreated from the outside world. Her arrival sets in motion a chain of events that allows a family to reconnect with their world and each other.