When radical New York lawyer Joel Litvinoff is felled by a stroke, his wife, Audrey, uncovers a secret that forces her to reexamine everything she thought she knew about their forty-year marriage. Joels children will soon have to come to terms with this discovery themselves, but for the meantime, they are struggling with their own dilemmas and doubts. Rosa, a disillusioned revolutionary, has found herself drawn into the world of Orthodox Judaism and is now being pressed to make a commitment to that religion. Karla, a devoted social worker hoping to adopt a child with her husband, is falling in love with the owner of a newspaper stand outside her office. Neer-do-well Lenny is living at home, approaching another relapse into heroin addiction ...