When the President's plane mysteriously disappears with him on board, it is left to the seemingly weak Vice President to try to avert a nuclear exchange with the Chinese.

Stanley, Harry, Sheila and Beth, four students from the 'free sex' Harrad College, spend the summer together to meet their families.

Henry, an uptight businessman who sometimes acts with questionable ethics, nevertheless rejects Ron, a scam artist who wants a partner. Ron won't let up and finds a lever to blackmail Henry, whose daughter Gina has killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run car accident. To protect Gina, Henry disposes of Ron, but a murderous sociopath witnesses this crime. Henry and this stranger bond in an odd way, telling stories about their childhoods. Henry makes a deal with the stranger, helping to get rid of the body of one of the stranger's victims. Will this act seal a bargain between the two men and get Henry off the hook, or will the stranger threaten Henry and Gina?

In modern day Los Angeles, writer Paul Verlaine invites young provocating poet Arthur Rimbaud into the home of his step-family, losing interest in his wife as he becomes infatuated with the boy.