It's 1973, and 15-year-old Natalie, shy and bookish, is caught in the emotional crossfire at home when her hippie-ish mom, Ruby, discovers that dad, Hugh, a psychology professor at a local college, has been having an affair with one of his students. Natalie is having problems of her own, of the "boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" variety, which is not helped very much by her friend Kay, who is pretty enough to have already caught the attention of several good-looking boys. However, much to Natalie's surprise, one of Kay's new flames starts giving her the eye, and appears to like what he sees.