In 1955
Springfield, Massachusetts, Abby Reed and Muffy Pratt are best friends and roommates at Penfield Academy, an all-girls boarding school. They begin the first day of their senior year trading stories about their past summer. Abby, the conventionally beautiful one of the pair, confesses she almost lost her virginity to her boyfriend Michael, who attends the nearby all-boys school St. Ambrose. An insecure Muffy regrets she has not had the opportunity. At a
mixer with St. Ambrose the following night, the girls and boys are paired up randomly after picking numbers. Abby steals away to talk to Michael, who pleads with her to visit him soon. Muffy is paired with Buzzy Knight, whom she a crush on, but the boy does not return her feelings and tries to get paired up with someone else. Malcolm, an awkward boy who has feelings for Muffy, tries to talk to her, but she is oblivious to his affections. Later, while Buzzy dances with Muffy, he holds up money to another boy in an offer to switch girls. A humiliated Muffy leaves the dance early. At the end of the night, Abby promises Michael she will take an overnight trip to visit him in two weeks. When Abby returns to the dormitory, she finds Muffy crying in bed. After Muffy confesses that Buzzy hurt her feelings, Abby tries to cheer her up by saying that Malcolm is in love with her, to no avail. Abby makes plans to visit Michael by concocting a ruse that she is visiting her grandmother. Muffy impersonates Abby's grandmother over the phone to the headmistress Mrs. Pendleton, and Abby succeeds at getting a weekend pass. Abby and Michael check into a hotel where they have booked separate rooms. He meets Abby in her room that evening, and after some awkwardness, they consummate their relationship. Later, Abby mourns the loss of her virginity, but Michael promises that he won't stop loving her. Back at school, Muffy receives a letter from Buzzy where he apologizes for his behavior. Suspicious of Buzzy, Abby tries to discourage her friend from replying, but Muffy sends him a letter in response, inviting him to a Christmas Eve party at Abby's family home. At the party, Muffy gives Buzzy all her attention and impulsively kisses him under the mistletoe. However, Buzzy rejects her advances and reveals he is with another girl. Muffy leaves crying, with Malcolm following behind. When he finds her next to his car, she propositions him to take her virginity at that moment; he resists, saying she's in the wrong state of mind, but later relents after she taunts him, and they have sex in the backseat. The experience is not as satisfying as Abby and Michael's. Before returning to the party, Malcolm confesses that he was a virgin until now and Muffy says she feels no different after having sex and doesn't see "what all the big fuss is about." Back at school, Muffy suspects she is pregnant and sees a doctor; he confirms her pregnancy. She asks the doctor if he can perform an abortion and he recommends she speak to her parents, but Muffy says she cannot tell her parents about this. He also refuses to refer her to any other doctors. Out of options, Muffy seeks out a
back-alley abortion. She heads to a nearby city accompanied by Abby, Michael, and Malcolm, where Michael has found someone to perform the procedure. The night before, Abby tells Muffy that Malcolm wants to marry her, but Muffy rejects the idea, saying she wants to have control over her life. The next day, Muffy meets the doctor Frank, a medical student who promises the abortion will be simple and painless. After the procedure, Muffy joins Abby downstairs and seemingly feels fine. However, back at school, Muffy becomes ill and refuses to allow Abby to tell the school nurse what has caused her hemorrhaging. Soon after, Malcolm, Michael, and Abby go to visit Muffy at the hospital, but discover she has died. On the day of graduation, Abby lies on Muffy's bed and cries before putting on her cap and leaving for the ceremony. ==Cast==