Set on the campus of a small, New England university. It opens with the main characters, George and Martha coming home from a party at her father's house.

The two of them clearly care deeply for each other, but events have turned their marriage into a nasty battle between two disenchanted, cynical enemies.

Even though the pair arrives home at two o'clock in the morning, they are expecting guests: the new math professor and his wife. Of course, as it turns out, this new, young professor, Nick, actually works in the biology department. He and his wife, Honey, walk into a brutal social situation.