Set in the early 1950s, 'Lessons in Chemistry' follows Elizabeth Zott, whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a patriarchal society. When Elizabeth finds herself fired, pregnant and alone, she culls her ingenuity as a single mother. She accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives — and the men who are suddenly listening — a lot more than recipes, all the while craving a return to her true love: science.