Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."

Going where she knows almost no one, Maggie takes a passive role in the shape her evening takes. Distinguishing her own desires from external expectations can be difficult but her first kiss might bring clarity closer.