Peter Short is a Northwestern University graduate student in the mid-1960s. He is bright but not worldly when he meets the beautiful Sallie Barnes, a performer in the Ice Follies. Peter meets Sallie in a Chicago bar in the fall of 1965. He visits her in Buffalo over Thanksgiving, and she spends Christmas with Peter and his family. When he lands a summer job, Peter heads to San Francisco, where the Ice Follies prepare for the new roadshow to start in the fall. Sallie exhibits subtle signs of emotional instability along the way. However, Peter's untrained eye does not perceive the true nature of the driving forces behind her erratic behavior. At times they seem headed for a long-term relationship, but something always happens that blows their bond apart. Along the way, Peter has interesting encounters with a handful of other women and renews an old friendship with his roommate from undergraduate school who now lives in California. His up and down relationship with Sallie continues as he pursues her across the country. Peter grows up fast as his life becomes all about a woman-and a heap of worries.