THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST is the story of Jackie, a man whose wife has abruptly and mysteriously left him and their infant daughter. Confounded by his wife's unexplained absence and unable to pay for daycare, Jackie accepts the free services of his stepmother, Joyce, to babysit until his wife returns. The involvement of a neighbor who knows more than he should and a house painter who finds countless excuses not to finish the job compound a drama of crossed boundaries and increasingly complex family dynamics.