Astrophysicist Dr. Stella loves her work at the planetarium’s science education program—teaching young students about the laws of the universe in fun and practical ways. Sharing her love of the stars and black holes. However, a health crisis forces her to face her past, including her responsibility for the child she left behind years ago to further her career. Life for Stella and her wife Bree gets complicated when that abandoned child is hired as a visiting professor in environmental education. Coming face-to-face with her daughter Zoe is both heart-rending and exciting: an opportunity to mentor a rising star in her field and to make up for the sins of her past.
But neither Bree nor Zoe is eager for Stella to pursue her agenda. Zoe refuses Stella’s mentorship—her childhood has left a residue of bitterness and hostility—and Bree is desperate to keep the stress out of their lives. Zoe’s arrival will impact their son Jett, a high school senior obsessed with football who needs to get serious about college applications.
When Stella invites Zoe to a family dinner and a friendly argument between Stella and Zoe, about the importance of studying the universe versus tackling environmental challenges, escalates, Zoe discovers Stella’s role in her appointment at the university. The truth is revealed: Zoe and Jett are stepsiblings. Bree forces Stella to confront the ugly truth: Stella runs away when she can’t face reality. Life on earth can be challenging for her. Keeping her head in the stars is more comfortable and fulfilling.
Driven by her deteriorating health, Stella retires from her job to pave the way for Zoe to assume her position as a science educator. Zoe is irate at this second attempt to run her life by the mother who abandoned her and confronts Stella in a heated argument. Stella acknowledges her guilt and the mistakes she made in the past, refusing to run away this time. But the effort has left her vulnerable, near to collapsing, as she confesses the state of her health to Zoe.
Weeks later, Stella convalesces at home, sitting with Jett in her backyard waiting for a meteor shower. When Zoe appears to say good bye—her stint at the university is over—there is a personal détente between them, though professionally each acknowledges the other’s brilliance as they agree to “let the best woman win.” The meteor shower starts, Stella recognizing that, indeed, it is a beginning.