Professor Stuart Browning sits and reads an old farewell letter written to him by his wife Moira (Jill Clayburgh) who was dying of cancer, then she calls him to tell him dinner is ready, as she had beaten that cancer five years ago. Soon after, Moira discovers her cancer has returned so she begins preparing anew, her husband, her teenage daughter Jani (Cyndy Preston), and her young son Brad (Andrew Bednarski) for when she is gone.