During the 1973 Thanksgiving weekend, the Hoods are - relationship-wise, skidding out-of-control, isolated from each other; Benjamin reels from drink-to-drink, His wife, Elena's losing patience with Ben's incessant lies. Home for the holidays, their son, Paul, heads into Manhattan,in search of a rich girl from his prep school.Wendy, the teenage daughter, roams the neighborhood, exploring the liquor and lingerie of her friends' parents, looking for something - anything - new. Then, an ice storm hits, and their problems seem inconsequential, and nothing will ever be the same.