A mother is dying and is worried as to who will look after her two daughters after she has gone. She hates her ex-husband's new wife, for she is a young and very beautiful model and the two have nothing in common. When the mother's illness gets worse, she makes the decision that her daughters' step-mother should look after them after all and that before her death all four women should go on a journey across America. She also decrees that when she dies the others should start a new family.