Here, against the backdrop of Manhattan careers, country houses, and children whose futures are limited only by their parents' checkbooks, Corman introduces Elizabeth Mason, a beautiful, spirited teenager who is raped during her first week of college by the star of the school tennis team. Her gradual recovery, the pain and guilt that threaten her parents' marriage, the dramatic courtroom scenes, and the family's eventual transformation, create a story of a "perfect family" caught in a crisis right from today's headlines.