Aimee, 16, finds herself friendless at the end of the worst summer of her life. She's shuttling back and forth between her science professor parents, Martin and Claire, at the end of their trial separation. Claire, an ambitious chemist, wants a divorce from her disorganized biologist husband. Convinced she can save their marriage, Aimee signs up for the high school science fair, and enlists an ambitious geek, Jonathon, to run the project. Her one condition is that they scam both her parents into advising on the project (even though rules state they can have only one advisor). Things quickly deteriorate when the parents find that their different approaches to science mirror their different approaches to life. Aimee realizes she can't just put different elements of her life together and expect them to magically combine. But as they work through the experiment, they begin to appreciate each other. Aimee discovers Jonathon is more than just a geek, and Claire and Martin find that working together rekindles old feelings. But when the science fair judges discover both Claire and Martin are acting as advisors, the experiment is disqualified and Aimee risks losing her new boyfriend and her reconciled family.