Undergrad Paul Roberts is assigned to research the Vietnam War demonstrators for the campus newspaper. Through autumn and winter, he discovers the Champaign-Urbana peace movement not only includes resolute, naïve, draft age teenagers, but is controlled by bullies, subversives and treachery. When Nixon escalates in 'Nam and University of Illinois students protest, Paul's choice is exposing a conspiracy or concealing the truth. His roommate is guitar-playing Bill Lindner. Lindy gambles then crashes with a rock 'n roll band; costing lost sleep, bad grades, buddies and his steady girl, Emily Ritter. Seeing these screw ups, Paul intuits risking is a mistake; caution and laissez faire scruples are safer. His new girlfriend, Sharon Taylor, counters, reasoning with Paul to look beyond the Big U's bellbottoms, long hair, sleeping until noon and Friday night happy hours, and pushes him to publish his newspaper story as well as face graduation and the future. Piecing together the anti-war movement's schemes, Paul concedes he can make a difference, change students' programmed pacifism and prevent the riots. He argues with his editor-in-chief to print his article, then wavers and wanders away. With the student body facing the state troopers on the Quad, however, Paul realizes resolving, not hiding, is the way to handle life.