Shortly before starting her senior year of high school, aspiring journalist Darcy Elliot takes a secret weekend road trip with her devoted boyfriend, Stan Bobrucz, to visit her prospective college, the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Eager to be alone together for the first time, Darcy and Stan pull over to the side of the road and make love. Afterward, Darcy meets with the student editors on campus, hoping to write for the school newspaper. Although they scoff at the triviality of her articles about her hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin, they admire her passion and invite her to send them more writing samples. That night, the couple pitches a tent and raises a glass of wine in a toast, “To forever.” However, Darcy privately questions the longevity of their relationship, since Stan hopes to receive a scholarship to study architecture at the California Institute of Technology. Two months later, Darcy becomes ill at the sight of food and concludes she is pregnant. While Stan is supportive, Darcy’s single mother, Donna Elliot, and the religious Mr. Bobrucz become locked in a heated argument over whether Darcy should have an abortion or give the baby up for adoption. Worried that the unplanned pregnancy will derail her college ambitions, Donna books an appointment for an abortion, but Darcy backs out of the procedure in favor of keeping and raising the child with Stan. Although excited to start a family, the couple fears their parents’ reactions and waits until Christmas to share the news. Furious, Mr. Bobrucz insults Darcy’s virtue, inciting a verbal and physical fight between the children and their parents. Cutting off all communication with their families, the young lovers check into a motel and plan their financial future as newly independent adults. With only $927 between them, they rent a dilapidated studio apartment and get married in a small church ceremony. While Stan gets a job as a shoe salesman, a guidance counselor encourages Darcy to drop out of school, claiming that her presence in regular classes may set a bad example for her peers. Darcy is disgusted by the suggestion, but eventually enrolls in night school so she can work a day job at a hamburger stand. Meanwhile, Stan is awarded a full scholarship to Caltech, but learns that the university does not offer housing for married freshmen. Instead of telling Darcy the truth, he pretends he was rejected for the scholarship. On the night of the senior prom, Darcy goes into labor and gives birth to a girl. Afterward, she asks the nurses to call her mother, who arrives with an adoption liaison in a final attempt to convince Darcy to give up the baby. Donna has a change of heart after seeing the child, but struggles to reconnect with Darcy, who suffers from postpartum depression. Although Darcy shows no interest in the baby, Stan proves to be a loving father and names her Theodosia, after his grandmother. One night while Stan is at work, Darcy notices a man lurking outside the apartment window and calls 911. As she rushes to protect baby “Thea,” police identify the stalker as Mr. Bobrucz, who, despite his estrangement from Stan, asks if he can meet his grandchild. As bills begin to pile up, Darcy and Stan realize they will never save enough money to go to college. When Thea becomes sick and they cannot afford the hospital bill, Darcy makes the decision to move back in with her mother. The arrangement puts strain on their relationship, and Stan begins drinking heavily and sneaking out late at night. After an argument with Darcy, he bumps into his former girl friend, Michaela, who tries to win him back by blaming Darcy for ruining his dreams. As they talk, however, Stan realizes that his love for Darcy was always stronger than his desire to go to college. Michaela bitterly tells Darcy that Stan lied about his acceptance to Caltech. Distraught, she calls the school and learns that another scholarship applicant has dropped out. After enrolling on Stan’s behalf, Darcy pretends that she no longer loves him, kicks him out of the house, and has their marriage annulled, since they were still underage at the time of the ceremony. Although he briefly considers attending Caltech, Stan figures out that Darcy staged their breakup and begs her to reconsider. The evening of Darcy’s night school graduation ceremony, Stan reveals he has secured both of them scholarships at University of Wisconsin after sending the editor of the school newspaper a piece Darcy wrote about the trials of young motherhood. Still lamenting her former husband’s abandonment, Donna encourages her daughter to walk away from the relationship, but Darcy realizes she must make her own decision. Stan and Darcy reconcile, and he asks her to marry him again.