The Daytrippers

Eliza D'Amico loves her husband Louis and believes he loves her. Her beliefs are tested on the day after Thanksgiving when she finds behind her bedroom dresser a letter written by "Sandy" to Louis which references poet Andrew Marvell. Unsure what the letter means, Eliza asks her working-class parents, Rita and Jim Malone, and her sister Jo and Jo's intellectual boyfriend Carl Petrovic, who are visiting from Michigan for the holiday weekend, what they think. The five decide to drive from the Malones' Deer Park, Long Island home into New York City to find Louis and/or find clues as to the meaning of the letter's contents. As they go on their search through the day and into the night, they do find more and more evidence, which they all believe is still inconclusive. But they also meet a variety of people with whom they share their story, and learn the stories of these new people, including a sex-starved man who tells the story of his latest conquest to anyone who will listen; a writer who out-intellectualizes Carl; a father and son, one of whom is hiding from the law; sisters dealing with their mother's estate; and a woman who is trying to pick up her ex-boyfriend at a party. Through it all, the day's events not only affect Eliza and her marriage, but the family dynamic as well.