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DRUGS, SEX, ROCK 'N ROLL, AND THE TRUTH
Paul, Mary, and Frank arrive at the California apartment of their college
buddy, Capo, the musician. Right away they meet Helen, Capo's "new old lady."
Enjoying a high reunion, they all decide to form a commune. Later, on a camping retreat
in Big Sur, Frank, the mystic of the group, meets Barbara, a teenaged hooker seeking to
escape from the streets, and he brings her back to Oakland to join in.
Following honesty, in search of truth, these six explorers embark on a
quest to discover themselves and each other. To be sure, they experiment with drugs and
with unconventional interpersonal and sexual intimacy—after all, these people are
hippies and the year is 1970. Following his artistic temperament, Paul works on his movie
and delves ever deeper into the psychedelic experience. Fiery Helen survives the Revolution,
even though she is wounded in the process. Contemplative Frank seeks understanding and
wisdom. Capo makes music and women. Barbara scores a straight job and starts working for
a GED. And Mary, the gentle heart and center of them all, discovers her biding interest in midwifery.
Although comforted, strengthened, and enlightened by each other, it
remains uncertain whether their union will withstand the divisive forces both welling up
within the group and assaulting it from beyond. But then again, just as in real life,
the value does not lounge idly off at some far-away end, but, rather, it permeates the journey itself.
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