Rachel Benjamin isn?t happy in her family, with 6 brothers and sisters. Her father is a Rabbi, so she has to strictly follow all Jewish rules. She?s constantly having arguments with her parents, because she?s the oldest, and she?s supposed to be a good example to her younger sisters. Her parents don?t want her to get American, instead of Jewish. A few examples of this: She can?t read English books, she can?t wear transparent stockings, she can?t wear a bathing suit in public and more of that. When her mother is gone to Israel, after a quarrel with her father, without saying how long she will be away, Rachel and her sister Leah take lessons to become lifeguards, even though they know it isn?t allowed, because they have to wear a bathing suit for it. Rachel and Leah get a job as lifeguard, but when her mother?s back she gets really pissed off about this. She allows them to go on with it, because they are able to earn money with it. But when someone in their neighborhood says Rachel should be ashamed of herself, walking around half naked in her bathing suit, both of her parents change their opinion, and they want Rachel to stop wearing the bathing suit without anything over it, to save the honour of the family as a Rabbi?s daughter. She doesn?t do this, and disappoints her parents with it. When she turns 17 she has to marry, and her parents try to find a good husband for her. The first guy she meets is Israel Mittelman. After 2 meetings with him and being pushed by her parents, she says yes and marries him. But he is far too dumb and clumsy for her. When they go by bus on a trip, the men and women are seperated, and when they need to get off Rachel finds out that Israel fell asleep, she gets out anyway and stays in a hotel for a while. After that she goes back home again, and tries to make clear to her parents that she wants a divorce. I don?t know how it ends, because it?s an open ending.