SYNOPSIS Children at the Gate is set in San Francisco during the 1970’s. The story is about a small group of young people from various backgrounds who are seeking meaning and direction during the turmoil of the 70’s, which of course includes Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War, the rise of black militant groups, and feminism. Travis Carter is a Vietnam vet who has returned to school at San Francisco State University and works nights at a popular San Francisco bar. On the way to work one afternoon he stops to watch a street mime perform, who happens to be a young woman, also a student. A pickpocket is working the crowd and our hero is falsely accused of the crime, which sets off a chase after the real culprit, with the mime assisting. This incident, while somewhat comic, results in a bonding of Travis and the mime, whose name is Marcella Morgan. Neither seem to have a romantic interest in the other at first, especially since Marcella, due to her make up and costume, appears to be nearly androgynous. The culprit turns out to be an African American who served in Travis’ unit in Vietnam. Travis convinces him to give up the wallet he has stolen and helps him to get a job in the same bar where he works. Soon the trio are inseparable, though they pursue somewhat different goals. Marcella auditions for a local play and is cast in the leading feminine role. Travis goes along to watch and ends up getting a bit part in the same play. Ben Franklin, the African American, begins work in the bar as a bouncer, but soon is recruited by Bobby X, a black militant who wants him to join a group that calls itself The Black Pumas. While pursuing Marcella as she pursues her acting career, Travis is simultaneously drawn into the more violent world of the Black Pumas by virtue of his relationship to Ben. These two worlds may seem unrelated, but they are both subversive undercurrents of an otherwise complacent, though restless and uncertain, society.