The story is about a college freshman who is physically and sexually assaulted by a controlling football jock, and addresses the ordeal that rape victims experience.

[1] At Woodward University, a football-oriented California school, Lyn McKenna is raped by her best friend's abusive, controlling boyfriend, football star Ron Cooper.

"[4] Irv Letofsky of the Los Angeles Times, while acknowledging the serious subject matter, "criticized the film's "simple-minded characterizations and elementary insights.

"[5] More positive were The New York Times' John J. O'Connor, who said the film "maintains a surprisingly hard edge" and noted its treatment of class issues,[2] and The Washington Post's Tom Shales, who praised Gish's performance especially.

A Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed wrote that the graphic scenes leading up to Lyn's assault "hardly serve an educational function," and argued that they were intended to boost ratings with salacious content rather than to raise awareness.