Mass murders, kidnappings and a flasher may be troubling the residents of Fernwood, Ohio. But housewife Mary Hartman (Louise Lasser) has a much more serious problem: waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor. And while her husband Tom (Greg Mullavey) stuggles in the bedroom and her best friend, country singer Loretta Haggers (Mary Kay Place), struggles to make it big in Nashville, Mary teeters closer to the edge, desperate to save her marriage, keep her family together and give her kitchen floor the proper shine.