Susanna is a pushy but seductive rock and roll icon who lives with Beale, a charming, distracted art dealer. Unnerved by the prospect of middle-aged stasis and each drawn to other lovers, they separate. Maisie, their only child, is caught in the middle, shuttled back and forth between her parents. They each attempt to start life afresh and use new partners, Lincoln and Margo, as a means of competing irresponsibly for custody of Maisie. Maisie, loving yet quietly precocious and observant, begins to understand how essentially selfish, irresponsible and damaged her parents are, as each of their new relationships quickly disintegrates, and Maisie plays a critical role in constructing a whole new family out of her two step-parents.