Intended for doctors, lawyers, mental health workers, legislators, law enforcement officers, and hospital personnel--the film uses dramatic vignettes to show how, under the new law, one community copes with mental health problems. Such problems include a teenager's attempted suicide, an engineer's anxiety that threatens his job, depressed Spanish-speaking woman immobilized by a family crisis, an irrational man posing a threat of violence, and a mental patient asking for, and getting, a court hearing. In addition, certain significant rights furnished individuals under the act are detailed, including the provision that involuntary treatment must be in accordance with specified time limits and procedures, the right to judicial review when a person is held involuntarily, and certain other legal and civil rights guaranteed to all patients. The film emphasizes the importance of early intervention and treatment to prevent disabling mental illness. A training manual outlining the California Mental Health Services Act which includes the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act accompanies the film.