While she was growing up, Piper's father, Lance "the Silver Eagle" Whitman, became a national hero piloting a plane through an emergency landing. But at home, he was a controlling and overbearing presence in her life, raining emotional and verbal abuse upon the entire family. It's no surprise, then, that as an adult, Piper has poured all of her energy into creating a warm and loving home for her own family, while catering to her son Fred's ever-growing idiosyncrasies. Then Lance has a heart attack, leaving him with a brain injury --- and dependent upon Piper for his care --- just before tests confirm Piper's suspicions that Fred is on the autism spectrum.