Richard followed in his father's footsteps as Cambridge literature professor. Having fallen in love with LA socialite student Kate, he decides to move for her to California, enjoying a grand villa her father gave them but settling for a tacky position in a second-rate college. The relationship goes wrong, like his next with her bossy sister Olivia, but this time he's devoted to their darling son and caught up I a hedonistic lifestyle of mild (?) debauchery. Things are further complicated by new partners and his expiring immigration terms.