John spends weekends with his fair-weather father and the rest of the week with his emotionally fragile mother. Although he believes himself to be "immune to emotion," he reveals his loneliness and alienation in his ‘zine, Bananafish. When he forces a meeting with Marisol, a testy, gifted, and talented senior, who is the author of his favorite ‘zine, Escape Velocity, he finds exactly what he hoped for—a kindred spirit.