On his 21st birthday, journalism major David is given an unexpected present. His father, exuberant ex-hippie Chas (Ron Silver), surprises him with a copy of the book he has been secretly writing for two decades- an intimate account of his divorce and its tumultuous aftermath- a gift David refuses. But when the manuscript is sold to the biggest publishing house in the country, he is forced to confront the family's buried secrets through his father's eyes.