Lisa Shilling and her friends live on Long Island, New York. Lisa and her friends M.N. Fickett, Elizabeth Frazer and Betsy Goodman are all in high school, having the time of their lives. Lisa, Betsy, M.N. and to a certain extent Elizabeth are all girls whose lives have been comfortable for the most part. They are friends because of proximity. All four of the girls go to the same high school. They are young, happy and vibrant. Lisa, Betsy and the girls are concerned with girlish things: boyfriends, fashion, celebrities and movies, even current events. Little else matters. It is the sixties and there are more questions than answers available to young people. The Vietnam war is in the news and there is talk of free love and equal rights for all people. M.N. and the others can tell that they live in an exciting world, even if they do have to watch it from Long Island.

Things change, though, when Lisa starts acting strangely. It begins with mood swings, but soon Lisa becomes violent and withdrawn. All the while, Lisa pleads with her disaffected parents to find a doctor for her to talk to. When Betsy discovers Lisa poking holes in her arm with a pin, she knows something is terribly wrong. The girls do all they can to help their friend. They research various mental health conditions and work to find a diagnosis for Lisa, but the problem is more complex than they know. Elizabeth is the only one of the girls who is less than excited about helping Lisa fight off disaster. Elizabeth and Lisa share a secret, which puts Elizabeth in a strong position to help Lisa. The girls begin reaching out to anyone in authority who will listen to their story. The adults around them do not seem to want to take any responsibility for what is obviously a serious situation. They turn to people in authority at their high school and they turn to their own parents because Lisa's mother and father refuse to hear about how ill their daughter has become. After numerous conversations with the school guidance counselor and various parents, one of the friends has an idea that sets things in motion to help Lisa Shilling stay healthy and balanced.

But Lisa continues to fall apart and, more than once, Betsy, M.N., and Elizabeth are shaken to the core. After awhile, the girls find that curing Lisa on their own is more than they are equipped to handle. Then, there is the matter of Lisa herself. No one is sure that Lisa wants her friends' help but she has no one else to turn to. Lisa's cries for help become louder and louder until she decides to end her life once and for all.