The main character, a 16-year-old high school student named Buddy, plans to enter the diving competition of a pre-Olympic meet. Driving home one night after practice, he is struck and injured by a car driven by another teenager who has had a few beers. Consequently, Buddy must be hospitalized and has to watch the diving competition on television from his hospital bed. Ironically, Buddy himself had narrowly escaped becoming involved in a serious car accident related to driving under the influence of alcohol. His group of friends drank beer almost every evening after school and rode around in a state of inebriation. Right before he was injured, Buddy had finally realized that just because 'all the kids do it' (drink beer and then drive) is no excuse to jeopardize himself and others.