Details a young woman's summer in New York working for a Mademoiselle-like magazine, return home to New England, and subsequent breakdown all amidst the horrors of the fifties, from news of the Rosenbergs' execution to sleazy disc jockeys and predatory college boys.

A wife is sick and tired of her husband's infidelities, so she leaves home and goes back to grad-school. There she meets many self-confident women who help her find her own voice.

Richard, a successful New York accountant, has a chronic stuttering problem that causes great exhaustion and personal strife for him. After trying a number of different therapies to alleviate his condition, Richard travels to Roanoke, Virginia, where he enters the Hollins Institute, a treatment center devoted to the research and cure for stuttering. Here, Richard's painful memories form the core of this poignant drama.