Massachusetts, 1970s. Born to a pair of ābleeding heartā professors who live on campus as dorm parents, Frederica Hatch soon finds herself the unofficial mascot of Dewing College. Life is so ideal that by the time she becomes a teenager, Frederica finds herself chafing under the care of the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization. But sheās about to learn that life isnāt as simple or idyllic as it seemsāeven amid the manicured lawns of a small womenās college like Dewing. A new dorm parent has just arrived on campus. Laura Lee French is glamorous, worldly, and the former wife of Fredericaās father. Suddenly, Frederica sees her parentsā livesāand by extension her ownāin a whole new light.