Every working mother's fears are realized in this canny domestic thriller about a Seattle family that, like most American families in the mid-nineties, suffers its fair share of disappointments. But it isn't until new neighbor Sue shows up that their worst fears are realized. Martha Stewart wanna-be, control freak, and supermom all rolled into one, Sue is the embodiment of high-energy domestic perfection.

And she finds in the Jamisons a family much in need of her help, giving a whole new and demonic meaning to the phrase "busy as a bee.".

Anita and David Jamison's marriage has been strained ever since David's brilliant advertising career fell apart and Anita reluctantly returned to the work-place. As a househusband, David leaves a lot to be desired, and when we meet Anita she is at her wit's end and trying to resist the temptations of another man. Their two daughters are constantly squabbling and the oldest, Lily, is entering what promises to be a difficult adolescence. And, as if on cue, their house itself is coming apart at the seams.

As Anita is slaving away at a job her family can't afford for her to lose, her new neighbor is busily insinuating herself into the household with one ingratiating gesture after another. Sue wends her way into David's heart through his bruised and unemployed ego, and, even more deviously, works to win over Anita's youngest daughter, Sylvie, through every maternal trick in the book. But her methods turn violent, and events take a deadly turn, when her tidy plans remain elusive.