In the small town of Haley, Illinois resides the illustrious Abbott family. They are wealthy and well known, throwing grand parties for their three daughters on any given occasion, always leaving the residents of the town praying to be invited. Doug and his older brother, Jacey, are friends with the daughters and are commonly invited to these affairs, though Jacey feels embarrassed of Doug because of his theatrical mannerisms. Jacey's cause for embarrassment comes from the fact that, even from a young age, he has been trying to court one of the Abbott girls. One day during high school, Doug walks in on Jacey having sex with the middle daughter, Eleanor. The two go on to have affairs, but soon, Eleanor up and leaves her family to work as a stewardess, with the Abbotts blaming Jacey for corrupting her. Jacey then goes off to college and, a year later, so do Doug and his classmate, Pamela Abbott. Jacey begins pursuing the oldest daughter, Alice Abbott, though their relationship is complicated because she had been married once before and now has two children. For reasons that the Abbotts keep under wraps, Alice's marriage ends and she returns to Haley, living off of her parent's money and strict guidance. Jacey tries to convince her to tell her parents about them, though when she does, they flatly rejected the prospect, and despite Jacey's attempts to convince her otherwise, the relationship ends. When Doug is having dinner at Jacey's apartment, Eleanor Abbott comes over, revealing both that she too is in an affair with his brother and that his brother used him as a pawn to see how low Eleanor would go just to keep up their affair. Doug learns from his mother what the obsession Jacey has with the Abbott family is about. The mother says that Jacey has been searching for the type of security that comes from rich families such as the Abbotts because of his tumultuous upbringing. Raised lower middle class by a single mother, Jacey felt insecure, unable to rely on even his mother for safety. Now, he seeks out women who can grant him that comfort, though once he'd had an affair with the last of the Abbott daughters, his relationship with that family ended. A few years later, Jacey is married to a rich woman, and burying his mother with Doug. Mrs. Abbott passes them on the street, at first making small talk, then saying that she's run out of daughters for him. Jacey packs the last of his mother's things in his trunk and leaves Haley, Illinois.