Based on the life stories Edith "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale who are the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis. They were raised as Park Avenue débutantes, but withdrew from New York society. They took shelter at their Long Island summer home called 'Grey Gardens.' As their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their grasp on reality. They were reintroduced to the world when international tabloids learned of a health department raid on their home. At that point, Jackie swooped in to save her relatives.