New York, 1958. Cliff Nelson, the privileged son of a New York publisher, is slumming it around Greenwich Village, enjoying booze, drugs and the idea that he's the next Jack Kerouac. Fresh-faced Eden Katz arrives in the city with one burning ambition, but she is shocked at the stumbling blocks she encounters. Miles Tillman, a publisher's messenger boy, is an aspiring writer who straddles various worlds and belongs to none. Their choices, betrayals and passions will draw them together and change their lives for ever.