In the quiet, picturesque town of Grannick, Massachusetts, another September approaches. With comes change for three friends, each sending her only daughters off to college for freshman year. Kay Davies, a dedicated teacher whose marriage has settled into a steady, reasuring routine, plans on filling the void left by her daughter with work. Single mother Celeste Prince, declaring :my time has come, " plans a nose job, romance, adventure, and sex, the last three by way of a personal ad. Ther thereis Emily. Missing her only child terribly, forty-year-old housewife Emily Arkin tries to focus on the postitives. Now ther will be time alone with her husband, Doug, time for them to get to know each other all over again.