In the Naumann household, 11-year-old Eliza (Flora Cross) feels she has little to offer in a family of overachievers. All that changes when she wins the spelling bee, much to the surprise of everyone. Now her father (Richard Gere), a professor of Judaism, devotes attention to her as fanatically as he does to his religious studies. With this dynamic shift, family issues, including those of Eliza's mother (Juliette Binoche) and brother (Max Minghella), come to light.