An aging, best-selling American author is well past her literary prime, but she gets an offer to travel all-expenses-paid to England and accept a prestigious book award. She refuses to fly, so her patrons offer to bring her across the Atlantic on the luxurious Queen Mary 2. She finagles free passage for her three best female friends and her 20-something nephew who worships his aunt. The trans-ocean journey affords the opportunity for old acquaintances to talk about life, hash over unfinished business from the past and resolve painful personal issues that have festered for years.