Howard, a young journalism student, is just scraping through life at Wayne State University after the Army, using all the tricks he can conjure to get money. Then he meets Marian Herbaugh as new classes begin and his life is never the same. Marian is a wealthy Grosse Pointe girl, who had been at college in New York until her father had a heart attack. She came home to be with her family during her father s final days. But the father s illness stretched on and when the fall term began, Marian enrolled at Detroit s working class university, Wayne State. Marian met Howard Keck in Contemporarily American Literature. From the first date, both were smitten with one another; there was no going back. But the dark abyss of their opposing economic backgrounds was waiting. From the onset, Marian s father, after learning of his daughter s affection for Howard, manages to recover from his heart malady, and sets a course to drive a wedge between the two lovers. The father is ruthless and he has only one rule; win, no matter what the cost. He goes to his silent business partner, Aschenbrenner, for help, and a sinister plan to crush Howard is launched. Marian, at the mercy of a determined father, listens to his condemnation of Howard and his future ability to make money to support her lifestyle. She wavers. A new suitor is quickly found for Marian, a man who meets all the criterion of the father. And once the marriage proposal is made, Howard is out. He wanders to Florida seeking relief from his loss, and is successful in being hired at Fort Lauderdale Newspaper. He becomes involved with people in the anti-Castro movement. Marian, who becomes aware she has made a mistake in her hasty marriage, wants to be free again, and contacts Howard to help her. Howard returns to Michigan and the two are united. But Marian s father continues his campaign against Howard and is determined to salvage his daughter s marriage. When the father urges the husband to take action, it results in an unexpected series of events no one expected.