Kate (Hilary Swank) is a suave, married, eminently successful classical pianist just diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Bec (Emmy Rossum) is a brash college student and would-be rock singer who can barely keep her wildly chaotic and messy affairs, romantic and otherwise, together. Yet, when Bec takes a last-ditch job assisting Kate, just as Kate's marriage to Evan (Josh Duhamel) hits the skids, both women come to rely on what becomes and unconventional, sometimes confrontational and fiercely honest bond. Aimless as she is, Bec is determined to become an intimate shadow to Kate - accompanying her and translating for her through the most bewildering and awkwardly comic circumstances. The result is a camaraderie stripped down to the barest essentials of daily sustenance and late-night confessions. But as sensual, meticulous, wilful Kate begins to rub off on whirlwind, spontaneous, free-spirited Bec - and vice versa - both women find themselves facing down regrets, exploring new territory and subtly expanding their ideas of who they want to be.