9岁女孩菲比（艾丽•范宁 Elle Fanning 饰）进入学校话剧团，饰演《爱丽丝梦游仙境》的主角爱丽丝，话剧老师道吉尔小姐（帕特里西娅•克拉克森 Patricia Clarkson 饰）对菲比赞誉有佳。但话剧团外的菲比却问题重重，因向同学吐口水和无法控制自己的行为而屡遭麻烦。菲比的母亲希拉里（菲莉丝蒂•夏夫曼 Felicity Huffman 饰）拒绝承认菲比身患强迫性神经官能症的事实，面对多重压力，希拉里与丈夫皮特（比尔•普曼 Bill Pullman 饰）的矛盾频繁升级。与此同时，菲比的症状日益加剧，头脑中的幻象与现实的界限越来越模糊，而校方也对道吉尔小姐对孩子们的教育方法不满。精心排演的《爱丽丝梦游仙境》最终还能公映吗？The fantastical tale of a little girl who won't - or can't - follow the rules. Confounded by her clashes with the rule-obsessed world around her, Phoebe seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher, as her brilliant but anguished mother begins to worry for her daughter's health.