Against the backdrop of an early-summer heat wave, Heat Seekers plays out the brutal logic of tragedy, with emotions following a predictable pattern to an unanticipated conclusion. The Old South has not vanished completely. New sensibilities and an antique code of honor meet in Ash Mason, who cannot reconcile himself to losing his girlfriend to a high school classmate and begins to act out his vengeful fantasies. Nor can the adults around him deal with the loss of old ways and their sense of inadequacy as the culture of the city spreads out to the countryside. Old assumptions fall before unfamiliar ideas, but there are no guarantees for the outcome. In the midst of emotional chaos, neither love nor hate emerges triumphant. The 'melting pot' takes on a new meaning as Ash's friends and foes collapse upon a mutual center of gravity: Ellen.