Here again the plot turns on one dramatic event that, in a sudden twist of fate, changes everyone's life forever. And again, good girls are mesmerized by a working-class outlaw figure who seems to give off an irresistible aura of danger and raw sexuality. It can be a lovely place, especially in memory. The town has a commons, a Revolutionary War Memorial, and sedate businesses with names like the Bookworm, the Silver Shoppe, Harwood's Stationers, the Glen Theatre. The kids' families live in old stone mansions or architect-designed modern homes.
Fathers are corporate lawyers and successful real estate developers.
Mothers join civic associations and country clubs. The sheltered kids don't think of themselves as being privileged, since they've hardly seen any other environments. But they do get bored. We live here because it is quiet. Dressed all in white, her hair dyed platinum blonde, the beautiful young widow finds a number of prominent local businessmen who passionately want to help her with her investment portfolio.