Anne Archer plays willful and sultry Patricia Emerson, whose daughter Becky is a student in an English class taught by Colin Flynn. At a home-tutoring session for Becky, Mrs. Emerson comes on to Flynn. It's an attempted seduction that really heats up when Emerson---who says she's related to the poet-essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson---begins interpreting Emily Dickinson's ""The Sea"" for him as a poem rich in sexual metaphors. Elsewhere, Winslow's basketball coach denies charges that he illegally recruited a star player---who's enamored of Harper's daughter.

Moral and ethical dilemmas surround Flynn's adulterous affair; the college recruitment of Winslow's basketball star; and the plight of a pregnant teen.

Guber's speech team star has an issue, Russell decides on a college, while mixed signals rattle Colin as his affair comes to a close.