Set in rural Kansas, Splendor in the Grass tells the tragically romantic tale of teenagers Deanie (Natalie Wood) and Bud (Warren Beatty) who repress their desires because of their families' disapproval. Coming from radically different backgrounds -- one wealthy, the other staunchly puritanical -- they allow class differences to prevent any possible union. Their passions exist purely in their hearts and minds, but the couple never physically or socially express this forbidden love. Later in life, Deanie is institutionalized following a breakdown, and she eventually returns home to resolve her feelings about Bud.