Elsie and Maisie live on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Regular letter writers, they tend to boast about their respective families. Over time, the gulf between fact and fiction grows immense, until a letter arrives from Chicago saying that Maisie's granddaughter is coming to stay with her Irish family.

With no fancy house and little in the way of luxury, Elsie's working-class family sets to work on inventive interior design and the truth.