Three middle-aged married couples attend the wedding of their friend, Selma, making fun of her many failed marriages. In time, Esther Moskowitz, Doris Silverman, and Lucille Rubin become widows, as their husbands die in succession. Esther’s adult daughter worries about her mother, while her granddaughter, Jessica, provides comfort. Doris and Lucille promise to look after their friend. A year later, the headstone of Esther’s husband, Murry Moskowitz, is unveiled, marking the end her yearlong Jewish tradition of mourning. Flamboyant Lucille declares that Esther is now an eligible, single woman, and she should expect men to ask her out. However, conservative Doris tells Esther to ignore Lucille. On the fourth anniversary of Abe Silverman’s death, Doris visits her husband’s gravesite, and her girl friends accompany her. At the cemetery, they see a man named Ben Katz fighting with the groundskeeper about taking better care of his wife Myrna’s tombstone. Lucille takes an interest in him, and argues with Doris over her refusal to move on with her life. Sometime later, Ben Katz’s friend warns that he will not find satisfaction in his series of short-term relationships, and from quitting his much loved job as a police officer to drive a taxicab. Lucille tricks Esther into going with her to an “over-fifty" singles weekend retreat. There, they meet two goofballs named Bill and Morty, and Esther insists on going home after one day. She apologizes to Lucille for her reluctance to date again. In time, Esther takes her granddaughter, Jessica, to the music store owned by her late husband, and sees Ben Katz. He offers to drive them home, but Esther declines. However, when Esther later hails a taxicab, Ben is the driver. After dropping Jessica off, Ben drives Esther home and invites himself inside for coffee. Esther is hesitant, but agrees. She learns that Ben’s wife died ten years before, and tells him about her husband, Murry. Meanwhile, Lucille and Doris mend fences over lunch. Afterward, they stop by Esther’s house and are surprised to see her with Ben Katz. Later, her friends voice their opinions about Ben, and Esther tells them to be quiet. Their friend, Selma, announces she is getting married yet again, and asks the three women to be her bridesmaids. Ben telephones Esther and invites her on a dinner date. At the restaurant, Esther has a panic attack and admits it is the place where Murry suffered his fatal heart attack. Ben quickly escorts her to a local diner, and puts her at ease by regaling her with stories of his days as a police officer. He shares that he quit the police force after his wife died, as a gesture to her because she never wanted him to be an officer. Afterward, Esther invites Ben inside to watch television, and they kiss. Sometime later, Esther asks Selma for romantic advice, and Selma explains that in her many marriages, she prefers comfort over love. Esther continues dating Ben, and he teaches her how to drive for the first time. He takes her dancing, and asks to spend the night with her. She takes him home, but they are both too uncomfortable to make love in her marriage bed, and instead, go to a hotel. In the morning, Ben gets dressed for work and Esther is upset, believing he was planning to leave without saying goodbye. When Esther fails to show up for Selma’s wedding rehearsal, Doris and Lucille search for her at the cemetery, and find her there in tears. She admits to sleeping with Ben Katz, prompting Doris and Lucille to track him down at home. They warn that Esther is fragile, and Ben tells them nicely to mind their own business. Later, he takes Esther to dinner, and she preemptively ends their relationship, saying they have nothing in common. Ben does not try to persuade her to stay. In time, Esther wonders if she made the right decision, and drives to Ben’s house. However, she finds him with another woman, and quickly leaves. At Selma’s wedding, Esther cries disruptively, and runs outside in the middle of the ceremony. Doris and Lucille follow and comfort her. After the wedding, the women leave the reception early, and get drunk together at home. However, Doris and Lucille resume their disagreement about how to conduct themselves as widows. As the argument escalates, they reveal to Esther that they visited Ben Katz behind her back. Esther is furious at their interference, and refuses to speak to them. Later that night, Esther receives an emergency telephone call from Doris, and she races to her friend’s home. Seeing that Doris is having a medical crisis, she calls an ambulance. While they wait, Doris apologizes to Esther, and moments later, dies from heart failure. A few days later, Lucille and Esther bury Doris, and friends gather at Esther’s home after her funeral. Ben Katz arrives to pay his condolences and apologize to Esther, but she remains silent, and shuts the door in his face. Lucille tells Esther that despite her flirtatious behavior, she has not slept with a man since her husband died. They weep over the loss of Doris. In time, Esther considers her life as a single woman, and begins working at her husband’s music store. One day, Ben comes to see her there, and admits to being afraid when they dated. Ben presumes Esther wants to get married again. However, she tells him she is in no rush, but would like to go dancing. Ben plays a tape recording in the store, and takes Esther into his arms. Sometime later, Lucille talks to Doris’s grave, and predicts that the couple will be married within a year.