It was 1962. We felt something was decaying in the core of American society and that a reaction was stirring, but we didn't know where it would lead. Turned out of her parental home at nineteen, penniless but ripe for adventure, Justine travels from Pennsylvania to Boston, is romanced by poet Gregory Corso, then migrates to New York and San Francisco, where there is no shortage of other wounded hipster poets and artists to comfort. Teenage Beth rebels against the rigid expectations of her wealthy family and falls under the spell of the brilliant, philandering Elliot. Aspiring untalented artist Nancy spirals into addiction to the feckless, blond demigod Lothar. Flower child Mena, chafing under her immigrant mother's old-world strictures, is thrilled to abandon all inhibitions in Manhattan's seething East Village. All, in one way or another, seek their future in the scintillating bohemian counter-culture already dubbed the "Beat Generation."