Harvey, 58, an insurance salesman, is married to Janice, 53. Janice's 79 year-old mother, Martha, suffers from Alzheimer's. Martha lives in her own apartment with live-in caretakers, Gloria and Joseph, a Filipino couple, both in their 30s, who look after her but need constant supervision. Harvey is upset because his wife spends so much time with her mother, and she has even quit her job as a travel agent so that she can spend more time looking after her mother every day. Harvey and Janice have three children, Benny, 14, Jason, 16 and Rita, 17, all in high school.

Jenny, 55, a piano teacher, married with two grown children and three grandchildren, and Iris, 61, a retired librarian, married with no children, are the daughters of Ruth, 81, who has recently suffered a stroke and is recovering slowly in a rehabilitation hospital. It is anticipated that she will be able to return home in a month or two. Meanwhile, her case is being managed by a rehabilitation team consisting of a social worker, her doctor, a psychologist, a physiotherapist and a speech therapist. Iris, recently retired, visits her mother every day and stays for a few hours, while Jenny, who teaches four days a week at the local conservatory, comes twice a week for an hour or so.