Ellen Brewer, a best-selling author, shares her Baltimore house with single daughter Molly Ross, plus five year old grandson Nick. Added to the mix, is Ellen's sarcastic mother Sydney, and her seminar student Tom, a frequent guest.
Ellen goes on a scholastic trip to a museum with Adam and Paige to expand her cultural horizons where she meets an attractive English college professor. Desperate to win his affections, Ellen tries to impress him after he asks her out to a jazz concert and then to an opera. But when Ellen introduces him to the world of TV, his fixation on it makes their relationship boring. Meanwhile, Joe moves in the bookstore after having a fight with Stephanie.