San Francisco, late 1970s.
Mary Ann cuts her umbilical cord, leaves her native Ohio, and lands in the Bay Area. She finds refuge at a family guesthouse on 28 Barbary Lane. Landlady Anna Madrigal is, to say the least, picturesque, and mothers her tenants with her inexhaustible kindness. And they all need it, because "if it never rains in California, tears can still flow." Mary Ann will have to adapt to this new life, Mona has just lost her job, Michael is looking for the man of his dreams... Love, freedom, loneliness, professional ambition, money, marijuana, homosexuality, AIDS… This beloved, endearing accidental family has been a fan favorite for decades.