| The Nearing family's loss of its female leader. Rose, wife to Shep (Morse) 
        and mom to Henry and Blair (David Moscow), died six months before. The 
        time is the late '70s, when lifestyles and sexuality were undergoing tremendous 
        change in American society. Rose's death removes the anchor to this suburban 
        New Jersey family, letting each member drift into those swift-moving social 
        currents. Dad quits his teaching job, grows his hair long, rides his bike 
        around town and drinks himself senseless most nights. Blair splits, taking 
        off with a hippie girlfriend in search of acid and experiences, some of 
        which he might even remember. Henry changes the least outwardly; but inside, 
        his life is in free-fall. 
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