Occurring in the 1980s, Those Summer Girls I Never Met has two settings, a moderately wealthy Chicago suburb and an elegant cruise ship that stops at Scandinavian and Russian ports of call.

Stephanie and Drew are hangers-on in the suburbs, although they seem not to know it. Their father has remarried, and though his support checks arrive regularly, their mother still must work hard as a legal secretary to maintain their standard of living. Drew is shy, works hard at school, and seems to be on the verge of growing up. He, at least, is marginally aware of his mother's difficulties. Stephanie, however, is a creature formed by MTV, Cyndi Lauper, the phone, and the mall and is aware only of her own desires. Everyone has been wounded by the divorce: Drew misses his father; his mother is lonely, feels rejected, and is insecure; and Stephanie needs the...