Living in suburban Connecticut, upper middle class Marilyn and her college professor husband Greg Vine are grieving over their fifteen year old son Dale’s recent death in a tragic motorcycle accident.

So, she agrees to the house swap on the spot, whose two children, teenage Annie and adolescent Brian, will stay with Danny for the first month before joining her in Connecticut.

There are unofficial welcoming committees on each side of the Atlantic, composed of Marilyn and Ria's closest friends.

The two women’s new experiences help them view their life changes slightly differently than before and they are able to move ahead as stronger people.

[4] Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa, for three weeks for the scenes set in Connecticut.

[7] Kenilworth Square area of Rathgar, Dublin, was the location of titular Tara Road.

"[10][11] Padraic McKiernan of the Irish Independent was positive about MacDowell's star quality, but found the ending farcical.

"[13] It topped the Irish box office on the week of its release taking over €200,000, with a worldwide total of over $875,000, mostly from the UK.