Bob and Jennifer Jones are sitting on their porch one summer night. Bob is a little withdrawn, and Jennifer is getting frustrated. They are interrupted by the appearance of their new neighbors, John and Pony Joneses, who have moved into a nearby house. Pony is excited about their new town and to meet the new neighbors. Their couples are chatting amiably until they discover a dead squirrel. Pony, shaken, asks John to take her home.

Over the next few weeks, as the new neighbors bond, secrets are revealed. Bob is ill with an obscure (and ultimately fatal) disease. Jennifer is trying to cope, but is feeling isolated and lonely. John and Pony are happy together, but John is also keeping a secret. He and Jennifer share an unexpected moment of intimacy at the grocery store, which both of them keep secret.

Bob's physical and mental difficulties are starting to pile up and he is refusing to track any medical details, preferring Jennifer handle all of that. John's own problem starts to reveal itself, but Pony doesn't want to know. She feels like she will be inadequate to whatever problem John is concealing. She is terrified that she will fail John and herself. Pony confides these fears to Bob and they grow closer.

"Did you not hear me? I want ALL the plot (and the spoilers)"

The Realistic Joneses is a comic work about marriage, infidelity, communication and end of life.

John has the same extremely rare disease as Bob: Harriman Leavey Syndrome, which causes a gradual but inevitable breakdown of one's ability to communicate, followed by a host of debilitiating physical issues. It is incurable. John has moved to the town because the syndrome's discoverer, Dr. Leavey is resident at the local hospital and is the only resource for its treatment.

After John collapses one night, Jennifer takes care of him. She keeps his confidence. Meanwhile, Bob and Pony have a brief affair, united by their mutual desire to not talk about what's happening. John is jealous, but avoids confronting either of them. Jennifer is similarly angry with Bob but cannot abandon him.

With difficulty, the couples each confront their partners and try and build new bridges and/or repair old ones. They acknowledge both the inadequacies of their parternships and recognize that the marriage is what they have, for as long as they have it. Finally, all the Joneses finally go to a nice dinner. That evening, they are witness to the death of another HLS victim. Shaken, they return to Bob and Jennifer's backyard, where they share a summer night under the stars, waiting for the future.