Ricky is a single mother living with her two younger siblings and six-year-old daughter in San Francisco. When her neighbor Danielle gets into a fight with her mother after she watches the film ""Thelma and Louise"" with the Wilders, Ricky decides that she has become too soft on discipline. Her first victim is her kid brother Brody, who is forbidden from attending a frat party. Meanwhile, Sophie, Ricky's daughter, panics after losing a baby tooth.

Sophie becomes disenchanted with her first name and, at Brody's suggestion, changes it to Spot. With Ricky struggling to make ends meet for her extended family, Sophie's behavior is influenced by the teens hanging around the house. This obviously irks Ricky, and she unsuccessfully forbids Dorfman, Danielle, and Beth from coming over.

Melissa has fallen head over heels for a classmate named Rob, and she eagerly anticipates her first kiss. Meanwhile, Dorfman becomes a candy striper in order to hang out more with Ricky.