Comfortable New York suburbanites Arthur and Gerrie Mason discover one night that their seemingly perfect 16-year old daughter, Maxie has been tripping on LSD. Arthur, a smug, bullying braggart, immediately suspects his 17-year old (long-haired) son, Artie of supplying the drug to his sister, and immediately kicks him out of the house. Whereupon a confused Gerrie runs next door to seek advice from high school principal David Hoffman whose wife, Tina is an alcoholic, and whose son Sandy has his own problems. Very sensibly, he advises love and understanding on the part of the parents, which all but goes out the window when Maxie confesses she has been tripping for quite a while now, is also sexually active and on the pill.