Melanie's 17-year-old autistic daughter Jenny is a high-school senior looking forward to college. After a bad experience in her junior year, she's not interested in attending her final Christmas dance before graduating. Melanie decides to surprise Jenny by getting involved in the school's planning committee to create a welcoming dance for all students. Meanwhile, Jenny and her friends secretly plan their own party, in part to honor Melanie. Melanie works with Jenny's literature teacher on the dance and starts to fall for him while Jenny develops something special with a new classmate at school. When their secrets snowball, however, their plans begin to drive a wedge between the usually tightly-knit mother and daughter during the holidays.