The Mikkelson kids, whose parents both went to college, are fortunate enough to be granted higher education. But no one realizes it can be dangerous, and not all of the kids want it. For Line, Marty and Paul, a crack in their cohesive world opens in the early 1960's, the exploration of which takes them further afield than anyone suspected. For Line, becoming an exchange student to a black women's college in Atlanta is the first step to understanding problems she couldn't imagine in her homogeneous world. Marty revels in art, history and literature, but someone's innocent religious question frees her intellectually. Paul's legs are misshapen following reconstructive surgeries after polio, but a canoe and a guitar help unspool his particular talents. It is said that education makes one fit company for oneself. This is true for the Mikkelsons as they try to align innate gifts with what the world needs.