Sixteen-year-old Shane takes a summer job on a houseboat in the bayous with Captain Thunder, everything is going well until Captain Thunder abandons the boat and it runs into rocks, then Shane has to lead a group of five tourists to safety.
Ken Sutton is a good American citizen, but he knows that the war in Vietnam is wrong and feels he must do all he can to stop it, despite his father's strong objections.
After years of living in foster homes Gilberto feels lost and neglected but tries, with the help of his drama teacher, to fit in with his peers at school.
When a virus strikes a small prairie town, the townspeople suspect that the outbreak may be linked to the arrival of an unusual new student at the high school.