A drama, set in St. Louis in 1950, concerning an American family and the first courtship and sexual awakening of the teenage son. Ben Griffin lives with his widowed mother and beautiful 22-year-old sister, Dodie. The restoration of the family's affluence seems to hinge on Dodie's romances and hoped-for-marriage to a wealthy husband. But Dodie's ambivalence toward the rich and eligible Sonny confuses and upsets Ben. He wants to trust and believe in love, but worries that he may never find a girl to understand his romantic ideals.