A Jamaican woman becomes the housekeeper for a rich Baltimore family and bonds with a disillusioned teenage boy.

David is a teenager whose parents are in a deteriorating marriage after their infant daughter's death. Clara is a chambermaid at a Jamaican resort who is hired to be a housekeeper. Clara and David develop a close bond that opens David's eyes and heart to new experiences--and eventually leads to a disturbing secret in Clara's past.—David Thaler <[email protected]>

Hoping to distract themselves from their infant daughter's tragic death, Leona and Bill Hart (Kathleen Quinlan, Michael Ontkean) take a vacation to Jamaica, leaving their pre-adolescent son David alone in their lakefront estate outside Baltimore, Maryland. While wallowing in grief, Leona accepts the frank advice of the hotel maid, Clara Mayfield (Whoopi Goldberg), and impulsively invites her to work as their housekeeper. Although David initially responds to her with hostility, he and Clara develop a close bond after learning that his parents have decided to separate. A short time later, Bill begins dating an interior designer, while Leona develops a relationship with Dr. Peter Epstein, author of a popular self-help book. David despises that they have placed their happiness above his own, and begins spending more time with Clara in her new Baltimore apartment. One weekend, the boy learns that Clara is hiding a dark secret about her son Ralphie, and discovers a stack of letters stashed under her bed.