John Sayles' directorial debut follows a group of college friends who converge on a vacation house in a small New Hampshire town for a weekend reunion, marking the ten year anniversary of their arrest in Secaucus, when they were on their way to a political demonstration and march on the Pentagon. This varied group of friends are former campus activists on the edge of their 30's. Once gathered, they quickly fall back into their old verbal sparring routines, bringing each up to date as to what is going on in their lives. Katie (Maggie Renzi) and Mike (Bruce MacDonald), now both high school teachers, play hosts for the weekend. J.T. (Adam Le Fevre), an aspiring singer-songwriter, is hitchhiking with his guitar and is picked up by another member of the core group, Frances (Maggie Cousineau), a medical student who has been carrying a torch for him for years. Other members include J.T.'s former girlfriend, Irene (Jean Passanante), her new steady, Chip (Gordon Clapp), aspiring actress Lacey (Amy Schewel), and Ron (David Strathairn), a car-loving townie who was one of Mike's pals in high school. The film provides a compelling and intelligent study of the dulling of ideals over years as compromise after compromise reduces one's revolutionary zeal.
