Janet Wilson Meets the Queen begins in Vancouver, 1969, as society is undergoing profound change. Janet, a woman who places great faith in the British monarchy and its traditions, is valiantly trying to hold together her dysfunctional family: her teenaged daughter, Lilibet; her aging mother, "Granny," and her husband, Jim. When Janet's nephew from San Francisco arrives on her doorstep looking for refuge from the Vietnam War draft, the family grapples with what to do. While the people she cares for are irrevocably affected by the changing political landscape, Janet Wilson struggles for equilibrium, attempting to hold on to a world that refuses to stay still.