Following an on-the-job breakdown, a corporate buyer named Amy Jellicoe (Laura Dern) returns home after an extended stay in a holistic treatment center. With a kinder-and-gentler attitude, Amy moves in with her mom, Helen, while making overtures with the company, Abaddonn Industries, to get her job back. Meanwhile, she reconnects with her ex-husband Levi, but a relaxing evening short-circuits when Levi reverts to his old ways. Next morning, after reciting her new mantra--'I will change, and I will be an agent of change'--Amy returns to the office to start a new chapter in her life. But will Abaddonn take her back?

Amy's hopes to land a dream job take a hit when she's demoted to the basement of Abaddonn, working in data entry among a group of social misfits. The job has its perks, however, as Amy uncovers a litany of corporate improprieties while surfing the net in her downtime. Meanwhile, Amy's attempts to improve the lives of her ex-husband Levi and mom Helen fall on deaf ears.

Jealous of Krista's good fortune and fed up with her humiliation at Abaddonn, Amy considers leaving the company for a socially responsible job at a homeless shelter. But the low pay, combined with a huge unpaid bill from the treatment center, end up giving her pause.

Wary that she may revert to her old, hard-partying ways on her first weekend back at home, Amy talks Levi into taking a rafting excursion to the Kern River, which they used to frequent during happier times when they were married. The idyllic trip takes a downturn, however, when Amy discovers that her mission to implement change in Levi may be more difficult than she realized.

After learning on TV about the deportation woes of a Mexican-born mother, Amy tries to motivate her co-workers to join her at a lunchtime rally for the family. Later, with the support of Tyler, Amy decides to organize a women's group at Abaddonn, and looks to enlist Judy, head of Human Resources, by taking her out to dinner. She also targets Krista's baby shower as a place to recruit members, but learns her cause and passion aren't shared by the suburban domestic set.

Amy is thrilled when Sandy (Robin Wright), whom she'd met in Hawaii during group therapy, comes to visit her for a couple of days. The kindred relationship between the two starts eroding when Helen refuses to put up Sandy for another night, forcing Amy to drop her friend off with Levi. When Sandy fails to show up to teach a lunchtime yoga session at Abaddonn, Amy's baser instincts get the better of her.