As a young girl in a blue collar neighborhood of Pasadena, California, Taylor Young watched the selection of the Rose Bowl queen every year with fascination and envy. When she grew up, Taylor decided that she'd be beautiful and popular and have stylish clothes, too. She would marry a handsome, successful man, and live happily ever after in a big house with three darling children.
At thirty-six years old, Taylor is at the pinnacle of her dreams. She has a successful software billionaire husband, three beautiful girls, and a life of luxury in an exclusive enclave in Bellevue, Washington. But her picture-perfect life is about to unravel...
As the new school year draws near, Taylor prepares herself for another semester of playing the perfect alpha mom, organizing class activities and fundraising, including chairing the school auction. To her horror, Taylor's archrival, bohemian mom Marta Zinsser, is named Head Room Mom for her daughter Jemma's Fifth Grade Class. From that moment forward, this alpha mom will do everything she can to overrule Marta's influence at committee meetings and school activities. Tensions rise and the two rivals seem destined for a final confrontation.
As Taylor prepares her next move, she is leveled by a far more serious blow: Nathan, her husband, has been secretly unemployed for the past six months. Suddenly, Taylor's posh lifestyle begins to crumble. As she struggles to maintain her alpha image, Taylor soon realizes that Marta, who cares so little about appearances, may be her only true friend.