The lives of a failed erotic novelist, a hostess of prim sex-toy parties, an artist and a bookshop owner pursued by a demented if harmless stalkerall members of the artsy crowd in Omaha, Nebraskacollide one snowy winter evening, the week before Valentines Day. These wives and lovers plot to hold onto families, friendships and personal lives during an extravagant evening of wildy innocent sex parties, and may only be saved by their own children, a timely fire, and a return to their senses. Ashley, a frustrated novelist, teaches a community college class in the writing of erotica, which only seems to turn a magnifying glass on her own marriage woes. Deedee is becoming rich by selling marital aides at Tupperware-like home parties, but still longs to reunite with her ex-husband. Viv, an artist, learns to find creative inspiration, and maybe even a better understanding of herself, from a dirty-minded stalker who sends her startling obscene pictures in the mail. Peach and Plum, twin sisters, own a bookstore called Mermaids Singing, where together they attempt to unravel the knots of their own neuroses. All the while, the questionable wisdom of a tough-love motivational speaker, known only as Sybil the Guru, echoes throughout all their lives. The day ends with a few raucous parties that threaten, or promise, to challenge the ways these various men and women continue to live. As they struggle for guidance in the face of sheer lunacy, they come to realize that the most useful answers are likely the ones they come up with all on their own.