During the summer of 1975, 14-year-old Mary Jane Dillard is looking forward to her new job as a nanny for a five-year-old girl named Izzy Cone. Mary Jane lives in the upscale Baltimore suburb of Roland Park, and her parents are strait-laced and conservative. In contrast, Izzy’s parents are slapdash in their approach to life, and their house is a chaotic mess. Dr. Richard Cone is a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction therapy. Both he and his wife Bonnie are eccentric, fun-loving, and completely disorganized. Although dazed by their messy house, Mary Jane is vaguely excited to be working for a family so unlike her own.

As Mary Jane walks down the block for her first full day of work, she passes a new neighbor who is out gardening. The woman’s name is Beanie Jones, and she offers the girl a friendly greeting. After arriving at the Cone residence, Mary Jane finds Izzy at the kitchen table with a stack of coloring books. She selects one on the human body and instantly begins coloring an image of a penis. Dr. Cone isn’t in the least bit fazed by his daughter’s artwork, though Mary Jane is uncomfortable.