Simon is an intelligent and privileged young man whose family expects him to become a Princeton graduate. Crying out for attention from his reserved and cool hearted family, Simon commits numerous petty crimes and is soon sent away to boarding school where he befriends a "Deadhead," adopts the "hippie" lifestyle and dabbles in many drugs in his search for acceptance.

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.

Recent arrivals Jenny and Tim experience marital turmoil when Jenny finds herself attracted to Marina, the alluring owner of local cafe and gathering place The Planet; Tina struggles to become pregnant through artificial insemination but a miscarriage and Bette's infidelity bode ill for their seven-year relationship; tennis pro Dana stays in the closet but falls for sous chef Lara; Shane deals with her growing fame; Alice looks for love.

Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.

When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak.