After teenager Hal (James MacArthur) is arrested for punching the manager at a movie theater, he truthfully claims it was self-defense. When Hal's father, Tom (James Daly), a busy film producer, arrives at the police station, he doesn't believe his son's story. This bothers Hal because Tom is always so preoccupied with his work that Hal feels they don't know each other at all. Although Tom loves his son and arranges for the charges to be dropped, their relationship continues to suffer.