Tod is on his own in Southern California as Buz is still in hospital in Pacoima. Tod has just started working for highly honored and six-figure earning pediatric "psycho-dontist" - a dentist who uses psychological therapies - Dr. Anna Martin, while dating her daughter Lorre Martin. Much of Anna's success is due to her controlling and highly visible life, she doing whatever needed to see and be seen. Lorre, in these respects, is much like her mother. Conversely, Anna's husband, Dr. Lawrence Martin, a former Yale professor and research scientist turned inventor, immerses himself in his solitary work as he abhors how their lives have turned out, where Anna makes all the decisions in their household for what she believes is for his own good. Following an annual soirée hosted by Anna to expose Lawrence to the outside world - another measure for his own good - Lawrence runs off, wanting some time to decide how best to handle his life: cope, try to make Anna change, or run away forever. While Tod voluntarily searches for Lawrence, Anna and Lorre reevaluate their lives especially in relation to Lawrence. Lawrence's latest invention may give them all a spark of some answers.
—Huggo