The novel is about the transformation and redemption of a Berkeley juvenile delinquent who is sent to an Israeli Yeshiva to be rehabilitated. Karl's story-he later adopts the name of Baruch-is intertwined with that of his hippy mother, Lisa, a supporter of drug experimentation and promiscuous sex. The novel contrasts her search for personal freedom with Baruch's search for structure-and eventually his ability to find a flexible blend of both.