Though numerous social workers try to step in, a co-dependent mother and son bounce from city to city, in search of a place where they can be together at all times.

In an attempt to impress his emotionally distant father, a boy ridicules his mother, who has loved him unconditionally even in his father's absence. Wracked with guilt, he yearns for her forgiveness - only to find that she does not hold it against him.

After being left behind by her husband and two sons due to her alleged "boringness," a woman must learn how to cope with her new life.

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.

A blissfully naïve young couple hopes to avoid the fate of the husband's unhappy parents, but as his jealous mother, children, and resentments come between them, the young couple falls into the same pitfalls.

A son tells a series of stories, most of them about his father and stepfather. As the son describes a robbery that took place at his house in high school and his experiences with his father, a former Jehovah's Witness and current alcoholic, he begins to recall details from his childhood.

A single mother living in the Bay Area is attempting to successfully raise three children, but finds trouble optimizing both their freedom and their safety.

A woman with a troubled, cruel son pays careful attention when a mother across the street murders her children, feeling eerily connected to the mother and her motives.

After unannounced absences, lies, and a switched kitchen appliance, a woman in 1950's New York discovers the truth about her boyfriend and the life he is hiding.

When a man's son visits with his new girlfriend, the father worries that she is only interested in the grand house and family money. The father knows he should not intervene in his son's relationship, but the more time he spends with them, the more he dislikes her and the more difficult it gets to stay quiet.