A man who grew up in a primitive society educating himself by reading Shakespeare is allowed to join the futuristic society where his parents are from. However, he cannot adapt to their repressive ways.
A suburban housewife's feeling that her life is standing still causes her to divorce her husband. This causes tension with her daughter, who bitterly resents her walking out on the family, and her mother, whose own beliefs about marriage and family are jolted by her daughter's divorce.