Marcus Messner, portrayed by Logan Lerman, is embroiled in the chaos of the Korean War, where a grave bayonet wound during a clash with Chinese forces prompts deep reflection on his life choices that led him to this tumultuous moment.
In a poignant flashback to the summer of 1951, just prior to his freshman year, the synagogue in Newark, New Jersey, mourns a fallen classmate from the war. Marcus has received a scholarship to Winesburg College, a conservative Christian institution in Ohio, enabling him to temporarily sidestep the draft. His father, played by Danny Burstein, a kosher butcher, becomes consumed by paranoia over the war's toll on young men like Marcus, further complicating their already strained relationship.
At Winesburg, Marcus struggles as a diligent yet introverted student, feeling detached from his peers, including fellow Jewish students. It’s here that he encounters Olivia Hutton, brilliantly depicted by Sarah Gadon, a stunning French literature major from a well-to-do family. Olivia, both sophisticated and troubled, shares Marcus’s sense of alienation. Their early interactions lead to a shocking intimacy when Olivia unexpectedly performs oral sex on him during their first date, which leaves the inexperienced Marcus reeling and avoids her for weeks afterward. As their relationship evolves into a series of non-intercourse sexual encounters, he learns about Olivia's turbulent past — a recovering alcoholic who once attended Mount Holyoke College, having faced a suicide attempt that led her to the Menninger Clinic. Olivia reveals hints about her father's sexual abuse, adding layers of complexity to her character.
Feeling overwhelmed by his chaotic living situation, Marcus requests a single room, prompting a fateful meeting with the Dean of Men, Caudwell. This ostensibly simple discussion rapidly devolves into an interrogation about Marcus’s atheism and disdain for the school’s conservative values, culminating in a health crisis that lands him in the hospital—a surgery for appendicitis.
During his hospitalization, confessions come to light: a senior student informs him that Olivia has been intimate with many others on campus. Additionally, Marcus’s mother, Esther, visits with alarming news of a divorce from his increasingly unstable father. Olivia also visits, bringing a bouquet of red and white roses—only for Marcus's mother to notice Olivia's wrist scar from her past.
Upon Marcus’s return to campus, he discovers that Olivia has vanished, having suffered a nervous breakdown. An inquiry into Olivia’s state reveals her precarious history, including previous electroshock therapy. The Dean’s accusatory inquiry about whether Marcus harmed Olivia leaves him infuriated, leading to his expulsion after the truth surfaces regarding his attempts to circumvent mandatory requirements.
As the war continues, Marcus fights bravely but is ultimately stabbed, falling to the ground as the thought of Olivia lingers in his mind. He yearns to reassure her that "it's okay, whatever it is. 'Cause someone did love you. At least, I think that's what it was." The narrative then flashes forward, revealing a much older Olivia residing in a nursing home, finding solace in the nostalgic memories as she gazes upon a repeating rose pattern on the wallpaper, her smile hinting at undying hope amid her struggles.
