In a series of commentaries on the human condition — life, truth, happiness, death — a spinster sister takes in her dead sister’s children; a man is entranced by the endless waves which roll and crash in the ocean; a carpenter wrestles with the burden of being everyone’s confidante; a dying railroad crossing watchman shares a simple but complex wisdom.

A mother struggles to provide her daughter with comfort in an unstable home as her husband constantly searches for new employment.

When a woman finds her purse stolen, she retraces the steps of her eventful day only to realize that the encounters, and her life as a whole, are empty and purposeless.

Terrence and Ruth, a middle-aged couple, move house for a fresh start - but their new house is in disrepair. Ruth contends with sickness, unfulfillment, and her staling marriage while laboriously cleaning it.

A young woman is returning to her husband and parents in New York, after having left her husband for a brief affair. As her father drives her home and reminisces on the hard work it took to build a life at their farmhouse, she learns that he hasn't told anyone else she's coming home.

A middle-aged Canadian writer reflects on her life, and recalls a family friend who has spent decades drifting in and out of her life, and who leaves chaos and clarity in her wake.

After their only child dies during his gap year abroad, a woman reflects on her relationship with her husband and comes to understand that they deal with fear and grief in different ways.

A middle-aged man working for a Jewish organization in New York plunges into a mid-life crisis when his wife and children leave him, leading him to rethink his religion and career choices.

A girl flees her home when her parents want to send her back to her abusive husband.

A young teen in Southern California, after several months of living on the streets, tries to rebuild her life. She suddenly disappears after six months of sobriety, leaving her family to yet again wonder if she has relapsed and returned to live on the streets again.