A woman's complicated relationship to her mother is captured in three vignettes: one from directly after her death, one from when she is still alive, and one from years after she is gone.

A couple with a rocky marriage argues over fetching a newspaper, which becomes a catalyst for their impending divorce. When they unexpectedly reunite over a decade later, the former couple witnesses how their lives disparately transformed thanks to the fateful newspaper.

A working-class mother has held only one hope for her entire life: that one day, her daughter would marry well and wealthy, and take care of her in her old age. When her daughter reveals that the man she loves is not wealthy, her mother's dreams of rest are dashed and divided.

Haunted by her father's death caused by cancer, a woman attempts to die by suicide. When her boyfriend's advisor finds out she has stolen cyanide from his lab, she must hide her will to die from her boyfriend.

A Black, southern house servant with internalized racism, joins her mistress on a visit to another region, where she observes Black people acting with something she abhors: autonomy.

An elderly woman prepares for her death, but is anxious for someone to listen to her precious memories and cherish them after her death.

After a woman gives birth, her husband dies and she hallucinates a laughing "chinaman." She comes to see "chinamen" as an omen of death, and goes the rest of her life fearful that she will encounter another one.

A Jewish mother wants her daughter to marry well and have a better life, but her husband doesn't seem to care. After her other daughter passes away, she realizes she should not hesitate to make bigger sacrifices.

A maid in New York City catches stray bits and pieces of her customers’ lives as they waltz in and out of her dressing room at a nightclub.

A woman has dinner with her husband and stepchildren and is interrupted by a stranger at the door, which prompts her to reminiscence about her past—the houses, love, and drama.