Maria Brennan (India Eisley) is a timid social outcast at her high school, where she is constantly bullied by her peers led by her schoolmate Mark (John C. MacDonald). Maria has only one friend, Lily (Penelope Mitchell) whom she envies, and for whose boyfriend, Sean (Harrison Gilbertson) she harbors a secret crush. At home, Maria frequently suppresses her emotions with her parents: her father Dan (Jason Isaacs), a philandering plastic surgeon and a perfectionist; and her mother Amy (Mira Sorvino), who suffers from Depression (mood) and pretends to be oblivious to her husband's affairs.