When Tom Baker (Martin) gets a job offer to coach football at Northwestern University in Chicago, he and his wife, Mary, move to the big city, which is a big change for them and their 12 children, who range from preschool-age twins Kyle and Nigel all the way up to 22-year-old Anne who has already left home. With the recent publication of her long-in-the-works book, Mary feels demands outside the home taking away as much time as Tom’s new job does, so the two are forced to try to find new ways of parenting their massive tribe, but they find their parenting styles aren’t always completely compatible