Wiley and Sandra have been happily married for years and are now in the process of breaking up. Sam, his childhood friend, is just beginning to fall in love with a new teacher at the high school. As they try to adjust to these conflicting emotions they find themselves having to evaluate their own relationship as well.
Avalon is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical series of four "Baltimore Films": Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), Avalon (1990), and Liberty Heights (1999). The film is set in Baltimore in the early 1950s and explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life.
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.