A suburban coming-of-age drama where illness, infidelity, economic pressure, and first love expose the fragility of two neighboring families.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
Suburban Illness
The story establishes 1979 Syosset and the Lyme disease outbreak. Scott’s gentle character contrasts with the instability surrounding both neighboring families.
Key Events
Syosset Suburbia — The story begins in 1979 suburbia, where two neighboring families face social and personal pressure. Characters: Scott Bartlett, Charlie BraggLocation: Syosset, Long Island
Lyme Outbreak Spreads — An outbreak of Lyme disease creates fear and paranoia throughout the community.
Location: Syosset community
Scott Watches Family Strain — Scott is introduced as a gentle teenager unlike the volatile atmosphere created by his parents. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Bartlett home
Charlie Receives Diagnosis — Charlie is diagnosed with Lyme disease and becomes unable to work. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Bragg home
Charlie Hides Away — Charlie spends his days hiding in the basement while maintaining the appearance of job hunting. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Bragg basement
Basement Secrets
Charlie becomes ill, withdraws into the basement, and hides the truth about his inability to work. Scott remains one of his few reliable connections.
Key Events
Charlie Hides Away — Charlie spends his days hiding in the basement while maintaining the appearance of job hunting. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Bragg basement
Scott Visits Charlie — Scott maintains a good relationship with Charlie while Charlie withdraws from others. Characters: Scott Bartlett, Charlie BraggLocation: Bragg basement
Charlie Pursues Deer — Charlie becomes increasingly obsessed with hunting deer during his illness. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Long Island outskirts
Household Income Shifts — Charlie's illness prevents him from working, forcing the household's income responsibilities to change.
Location: Bartlett and Bragg homes
A Risky Hiring Favor — A hiring arrangement between the neighboring families becomes entangled with hidden desire and marital tension.
Location: Bartlett household
Desire And Suspicion
Economic pressure creates a hiring arrangement that carries an illicit emotional charge. Scott’s romantic feelings develop alongside increasing family tension.
Key Events
A Risky Hiring Favor — A hiring arrangement between the neighboring families becomes entangled with hidden desire and marital tension.
Location: Bartlett household
Scott Loves Adrianna — Scott's lifelong love for his neighbor becomes part of the growing emotional complexity. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Bartlett and Bragg neighborhood
Jimmy Comes Home — Scott's older brother returns from the army for a family birthday and farewell gathering.
Location: Bartlett home
Birthday Party Tensions — The family gathering becomes uncomfortable when the hidden relationship is increasingly apparent.
Location: Bartlett home
Scott Learns the Truth — Scott discovers the affair and confronts his mother about the betrayal. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Bartlett home
Truths Become Public
A family gathering exposes the hidden relationship, and Scott confronts the consequences. Charlie also discovers the betrayal and confronts the person involved.
Key Events
Scott Learns the Truth — Scott discovers the affair and confronts his mother about the betrayal. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Bartlett home
A Damaging Lie — Scott tells a friend a lie, and the resulting rumor damages his connection with Adrianna. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Syosset neighborhood
Charlie Witnesses Affair — Charlie inadvertently witnesses the affair involving his wife and confronts the other man. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Neighboring homes
Marriage Begins To Break — Charlie’s wife learns that he has allowed her to support the family and prepares to leave. Characters: Charlie BraggLocation: Bragg home
Scott Loses Adrianna — Adrianna shuns Scott after the rumor spreads, leaving him isolated amid his family crisis. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Syosset neighborhood
Fragile Reconnection
The families enter an uncertain aftermath as one marriage separates and Scott’s romance temporarily fractures. Scott and Adrianna reconnect, while the household ends in an uneasy compromise.
Key Events
Scott Loses Adrianna — Adrianna shuns Scott after the rumor spreads, leaving him isolated amid his family crisis. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Syosset neighborhood
Brenda Ends Cohabitation — The affair leads to separation, and the household briefly regains parental stability.
Location: Bartlett home
Scott And Adrianna Reconnect — Scott and Adrianna repair their connection and become intimate for the first time. Characters: Scott BartlettLocation: Syosset neighborhood
A Conditional Return — The separated couple share the house for one night, but only with the couch marking the remaining distance.
Location: Bartlett home
Story Breakdown
Suburban Foundations — The film introduces a 1979 Long Island community shaped by family pressure and an emerging health crisis.
Syosset Community — The story unfolds in suburban Syosset during a Lyme disease outbreak.
Scott’s Perspective — Scott is presented as a gentle teenager surrounded by adult conflict.
Disease And Isolation — Charlie’s diagnosis changes the balance of his household and pushes him into secrecy.
Lyme Diagnosis — Charlie becomes unable to work after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Basement Withdrawal — Charlie hides in the basement while pretending to pursue job interviews.
Neighborly Connection — Scott and Charlie form a meaningful bond despite the wider breakdown around them.
Scott Supports Charlie — Scott maintains one of Charlie’s few stable relationships.
Deer Hunting Obsession — Charlie channels his distress into an obsession with hunting deer.
Hidden Desire — Financial necessity and concealed attraction create a dangerous connection between the neighboring households.
Income Pressure — Charlie’s inability to work forces his household to depend on new income arrangements.
Affair Emerges — A hiring favor becomes entangled with lust and marital betrayal.
Family Confrontations — The hidden relationship becomes visible and provokes confrontations across both families.
Birthday Party Tension — A family birthday gathering becomes strained by the apparent relationship.
Scott Faces Truth — Scott learns about the affair and confronts his mother.
Broken Trust — Rumors and revelations damage both romantic and marital relationships.
Charlie’s Confrontation — Charlie witnesses the affair and confronts the person involved.
Marriage Separation — The discovery of Charlie’s concealed dependence leads his wife to prepare to leave.
First Love Restored — Scott’s relationship with Adrianna moves from rejection toward renewed intimacy.
Rumor And Rejection — A lie told by Scott spreads and causes Adrianna to shun him.
Romantic Reconnection — Scott and Adrianna reconnect and lose their virginity to each other.
Uneasy Resolution — The closing arrangement offers neither complete reconciliation nor a clean return to family stability.
Parenting Regains Balance — The household briefly becomes more stable after the separation.
Couch Between Them — A shared night ends with one person sleeping on the couch, preserving emotional distance.
A coming of age dramedy where infidelity, real estate, and Lyme disease have two families falling apart on Long Island in the early eighties. Scott, 15, is at the point in his life when he finds out that the most important people around him, his father, his mother, and his brother, are not exactly who he thought they were. They are flawed and they are human.
