The arrival of a young tutor triggers emotional crises for a wealthy family.

The Harrington family is spending the summer at a beachhouse in Carmel, California. Louise Harrington is a domineering and overly culture-conscious woman who feels she has married beneath herself. Her husband, Stanley, is an intolerant, self-made furniture manufacturer who has allowed his wife complete authority in the upbringing of their two children. Young Philip, a sensitive Harvard student, is confused, semi-emasculated, and uncertain of both himself and his future. Fifteen-year-old Pamela is a frivolous child controlled by her adolescent impulses. Into their lives comes Walter, a young German whom Louise has hired as a tutor for Pamela. He has fled his home because of a brutal Nazi father; lonely, shy, and desperately in need of family love, he serves as the catalyst to unleash the hidden tensions in the family. To Stanley, Walter is one more of Louise's ridiculous affectations; to Philip, he is a much-needed friend and advisor who can save him from his mother's stifling love; to Pamela, he is a symbol of love; and to Louise, he is a potential lover. Walter's efforts to become a member of the family end in a violent domestic crisis. His attentions to Louise are misunderstood by father and son as adulterous; his "rescue" of Pamela when she swims out too far embarrasses and alienates the girl; and his confession to Louise that he regards her as a mother is met with a chilling silence. As a result he is dismissed and ordered to leave. Not knowing how he has failed to win the family's love, he attempts suicide. The drastic action awakens the Harringtons to a sudden realization of their individual selfishness and, once Walter has gone, they make an effort to repair their shattered family life.