A chance encounter with a UFO after a night of stargazing reminds Penny Dimeler that there's more to life than being a homemaker and a stay-at-home mother.
Lacking the courage to make drastic changes in her life, Penny decides to shake things up by throwing herself a birthday party. After recovering from their shock, her teenagers take over the planning and jokingly dub it an Area 51 party, citing their mother's age and her lack of a social life.
When she opens up to her husband Bill about her desire for something more, she is met with indifference and scorn, driving her further into herself.
As the night of the party approaches, Penny sinks further and further into isolation and depression, and finds herself wishing more desperately that the UFO would return.
What will happen if Penny breaks out of her self-imposed Area 51, and what could stop her from trying?