Born and raised in a college dorm and chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica Hatch is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. But then, into this cozy but claustrophobic world, comes Laura Lee French, a wannabe Rockette and the new dorm mother at the lackluster women's college where Frederica's parents teach and agitate. Further disturbing the peace is the fact that Miss French—in the distant past—had been married to Frederica's earnest and unglamorous father. Fearing scandal and campus glee, the three Hatches and Laura Lee attempt to keep their secret.