"Chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. Into this cozy world, comes Miss Laura Lee French - a wannabe former Rockette and the new dorm mother at the college where Frederica's parents teach and live. Laura Lee proves to be the enthralling and glamorous antithesis of the Hatches, whose passion for liberal political causes is all-consuming - even Frederica's Barbie dolls have been anatomically corected. Lipman turns this seemingly routine faculty hire into a catalyst for havoc and hilarity. For it happens that Miss French - in the distant past - was married to none other than Frederica's earnest and distinctly unglamorous father."