Grey Duck

Beside a lake in Austin Texas Jennifer Harris, a 50 year old housewife, feeds ducks. Tonight she will fulfil her final obligation as the wife of a state senator before her husband hands over the reins to his successor. After this, they can finally dedicate some time to track down her biological parents. However her husband Nathan is about to bitterly disappoint her. The party’s nominee was exposed for doing blackface in college and Nathan, as a reliable favourite, is going to have to run again. This puts Jennifer’s plans on hold, once more, as if she hasn’t already left it too late. Jennifer acts out by hooking up with Tommy, who happens to be Nathan’s political rival, in the back of a truck. To make matters worse, it’s the only time she’s ever cheated and she’s immediately caught by a local BBQ blogger’s iPhone. Upon receiving the footage, Nathan and his “advisor” ground Jennifer through the election, which Nathan wins. Despite his success, he fails in domestic policy as Jennifer refuses to apologise for her infidelity. Nathan retaliates with a separation (and by cutting off Jennifer’s credit cards) and the kids take his side, leaving Jennifer no choice but to return home to her widowed adoptive father Keith for Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, she decides it’s time to seek her biological family and finds herself in the Twin Cities in early December, where she rents an “Internet room” from a Lakota woman named Aglai who harbours an obsession with Ancient Greece, works as an EMT, and tutors a Somali woman named Halimah in English. Though Jennifer’s birth mother has passed, she meets a half-brother and sister who invite her to her niece's birthday party. Despite hints it might be best to leave it, Jennifer determines she has to find her biological father who is somewhere in North Dakota. The best intel Jennifer has is an unconfirmed address. Meanwhile, Jennifer still needs to visit her mother’s grave and Aglai accompanies her. A friendship grows between the two as they ‘test their strength’ at a barcade and Aglai comforts Jennifer through an emotional breakdown. Aglai offers to drive Jennifer to find her father. They head all the way to Bismarck, only to discover they’ve found the wrong Joseph Schulz. They need to find Joe Schulz who runs a bar elsewhere. Undeterred, they go to said bar, a roadhouse in Robinson, where it’s titty night. Behind the bar is Sarah, Joe’s fierce wife who asks them to leave but Aglai and Jennifer aren’t going anywhere. A drunk aggressively harasses Jennifer, and Aglai punches him, further “testing her strength.” This wins over the bar. Joe shows up not looking well and after some attention from his patrons (and a lap dance) finally meets the daughter he never knew he had. Sarah cuts it all short and gets Joe off to bed. Jennifer will have to come back tomorrow. As it goes, Joe is a recovering alcoholic and may not be long for this world. At a nearby motel, Jennifer confides in Aglai about her infidelity and Aglai clumsily invites Jennifer to stay through Christmas, also to come to Greece if she wants? Wow, it’s a lot. In any case, Aglai has to hit the road at 2AM to get to her EMT job leaving Jennifer in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. The next morning Jennifer visits Joe at his trailer and they talk about her mother. He has a picture and a flirty letter. “She liked to draw hearts.” Sarah hates this and makes it clear Jennifer should stay away. But father and daughter have formed a bond. Jennifer promises to return after her niece's party. Needing more funds to stay, Jennifer has Keith sell her Land Rover for cash. Nathan threatens divorce. At the party, Jennifer’s half-siblings awkwardly reveal that she may be the product of date rape. As Jennifer processes this, Aglai misses the cues (she’s Aspergers) and presses Jennifer about Christmas. Jennifer bolts. Distraught, Jennifer decides to retreat to Texas, and goes to Aglai’s to pack and apologise. Halimah overhears and insists that Jennifer needs to know the truth and that the three of them will go face her father together. They arrive to confront the now bedridden Joe about the truth, which he himself doesn’t know. Jennifer and Sarah call a truce and Jennifer stays with Joe as cancer destroys him, then remains to help Sarah in the fallout. Christmas rolls around and these four women from wholly different backgrounds, and Keith, spend Christmas together at Aglai’s. Jennifer hints at reconciliation with her family in Texas, But they’ll damned well have to wait until she’s ready to come home, because first she’s visiting Greece with her friend.