When art dealer Madeleine and her new husband George travel from Chicago to North Carolina, they extend the trip to include an introduction to his family - his prickly mother Peg, taciturn father Eugene, angry younger brother Johnny, and Johnny's very pregnant and garrulous wife Ashley (Amy Adams). Although Ashley immediately takes to the sophisticated Madeleine, the other members of George's family are less than receptive and as tensions mount, Madeleine has to rely on Ashley to help her navigate the family dinners, Church meetings and Ashley's baby shower.