An afternoon at the park takes an unexpected turn for a mother and her son as the well-established families that they admire turn out to be unhappy people who secretly enjoy the misery of others. As the day progresses, the mother is surprised to learn that she and her son share many negative qualities with those families.

A white reverend has given up a considerable amount of his good life to support a Black political campaign.

Eager to get his children to stop fighting, a father tells them a story about dragons and kings; things take a disappointing turn when the children realize that their father doesn't know the end of his own story.

Three argumentative children staying at a resort for the summer attempt to work together to build a sandcastle.