Shirley is a woman who wants to be in control of everything. Working as a librarian in a public school, a firm "Sshhh!" from her makes the students tremble in fear. But in her family, her unwarranted intervention in the lives of her children and their families keeps her emotionally detached from them. Realizing that she has lost the command she once had, she goes to New York to reunite with Mark, her estranged gay son who is now suffering from colon cancer. But Shirley doesn't know this, and living with Mark in New York comes with a cost. She has to live with her son's lover, Noel, who is an illegal immigrant. Everything is going right until circumstances force Shirley to go back to the Philippines. Now that she's back with her family, she realizes that something is wrong: she is not happy.