Helen, a high school girl, considers suicide as she copes with her mother Lenore’s impending death. She soon dismisses the idea since suicide is viewed as a joke at her school; no one takes it seriously. At home, Helen gives into her mother's random demands such as getting a tattoo, making a snowball, and getting a haircut in order to make the most of the time they have left with each other. Lenore lashes out as she struggles to accept the concept of dying and being forgotten. As death approaches, Lenore’s dog begins acting strange. He carries one of her slippers around and refuses to let go while growling at her softly. Eventually, Lenore decides to give him away. Both Lenore and Helen try to come to terms with letting go and being let go. They process how Helen will leave for Florida to be with her father after Lenore’s death. When Helen goes to get a haircut per her mother’s request, her Asian hairdresser, Mickey, mentions how she is one-sixteenth Ainu. Mickey goes on to describe a sacred ritual of the Ainu people where they would kill a bear each year. After catching a bear cub and giving it to a woman to raise, it would be cared for but it would be caged. Later, the village’s leader would determine that the bear would have to die and the village would take part in violently torturing it to its death. Helen compares the experience of living with the fate of the bear. On the day Lenore passes away, Helen and Lenore understand and acknowledge this will be the last time they see each other. Lenore remains at home as she watches Helen leave for school, continuing life without her.