Returning home late from work one night, a career-obsessed Ted Kramer is told by his wife that she is leaving him. After a life of being 'somebody's daughter' or 'somebody's wife,' she's going off to find herself - leaving Ted to care for their 6 year-old son. Ted, while trying to hold down his job, gets to really know his son: cooking his meals, taking him to the park, understanding every need and fear. For the first time in his life he feels like a fulfilled parent. But then Joanna returns. And she wants her son back...