On the occasion of her 40th birthday, Helene (Lisa Richards) has decided to throw herself a birthday party at her home and to invite several of her closest friends. Since one of her friends, Kate (Mary Crosby), has just turned 30, and another, Sadie (Marlene Giovi), is about to turn 50, Helene expands the party to make it a three-way-affair, inviting Kate and Sadie's friends to join the celebration. Also present is Martine (Nelly Alard), a house guest of Helene's from Paris, who is making a documentary for French television on what she describes as "Southern California Behavior". As the party progresses – when the cakes are cut and the slices passed around – Martine discovers that not one of the women gathered there will take a bite. And Helene's mother (MRS. WILLIAMS) – and we – start to realize that something much more significant and meaningful than just a birthday party is taking place. For as different as these women are from one another, they all share one thing: the unique and powerful role that food plays in each one of their lives. As one woman puts it: "I’m still looking for a man who can excite me as much as a baked potato!"
