Following World War II, in the midst of America's new prosperity, a generation of women willingly relinquished their mothering responsibilities to hired women. "Martha & Ethel" focuses on the lives of two nannies and their influences on the families who employed them. Through these two specific stories, "Martha & Ethel" reveals choices made by parents, the emotional experiences of their children, and the changing personality and dynamic of the American family from the 1940s to the present.