Bernie Fine D.W. Moffett is a highly successful businessman who moves from New York City to San Francisco to oversee Wolff's department store on the West Coast. One day, he notices Jane Noley Thornton, a little girl who is lost in the store, and he helps her by paging her mother, Liz O'Reilly Tracy Pollan. They share an ice cream sundae in his office while waiting for Liz, and soon Jane and her mother accept an invitation to join Bernie for lunch at a friend's beachhouse in Stinson. After a lengthy courtship, Bernie and Liz decide to marry, and Ruth Fine Cloris Leachman, Bernie’s proud mother, is not thrilled about Liz's Jewish background but gradually comes to accept her as her daughter-in-law.
Life looks bright as Liz becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, Alexander. However, the couple’s happiness is jolted when Chandler Scott [Darrell Larson] returns into their lives. Liz, fearing he will demand a place in Jane's life, considers paying him to stay away, despite her lawyer’s strong advice that it is illegal. Soon after Alexander's birth, Liz is diagnosed with bone cancer. She initially resists chemotherapy, but Bernie encourages her to consider it, even as Liz resolves to continue teaching and to finish the school year. As Liz’s health deteriorates and she loses her hair, Ruth buys her a wig and apologizes to Liz for not giving her a chance earlier. Ultimately, Liz decides against chemotherapy, choosing to spend her final days without the burden of constant medical treatment, and she dies peacefully in bed.
Bernie then buys a vacation cottage in Napa Valley and imagines a fresh start with Jane and Alexander. Tragedy strikes again when Chandler abducts Jane; frustrated with the police, Bernie enlists private detectives to locate her and bring her home. Amid these upheavals, Bernie finds love again with a single doctor, Molly Judith Hoag, who lives nearby in Napa. As their relationship grows, Ruth reassures Jane that Bernie will always love her, even if he starts a life with someone else. With time, Bernie resolves to stay in Napa and open a new store in an old schoolhouse, which he christens Fine Things to honor the meaningful moments and people that have entered his life.
A custody battle looms when Chandler sets a trial date to claim full custody of Jane, but a leak reveals Chandler’s involvement in cocaine smuggling, and Bernie wins official custody. The couple’s life stabilizes as Jane gradually adapts to the new family dynamics and bonding with Molly. The story culminates in a hopeful day when Bernie, Molly, Jane, and Alexander visit the new store, and Bernie’s gesture—a new dog for Jane—confirms the deep, renewed sense of family. In the end, Jane accepts Bernie as a father figure, choosing to call him daddy as they continue building a life together in Napa.
