Neither extremely popular nor an outcast, Gail Osburne is a typical American high school student. Gail's father commutes to New York City, where he works as an architect. Gail later learns that he has lost his job because of an economic recession but, unable to break the bad news to his family, has continued commuting to the city as if still employed.

Although Gail's mother is a loving and concerned parent, she also proves unable to communicate her feelings with her daughter.

Peck provides skillful thumbnail sketches of the secondary characters who populate Gail's school and community. Gail's best friend, Alison, dates and hopes to marry Phil Lawver, a member of the wealthiest and most respected family in town. Steve, Gail's intellectual boyfriend, no longer fits in with his working-class family or childhood friends. Sonia Slanek, the most complete outsider in the school's social system, bewilders...