Set primarily in 1982 Hollister, California, The Menagerie, focuses on the lives of a group of successful yuppies as they prepare for an upcoming Halloween party at the home of a multi-millionaire owner of a local computer software company. A rumor is leaked to the invited guests that the party is planned to be "... more risqué" than Ric's previous Halloween parties. The story mainly focuses around the lives of one couple, Ryan and Jennifer Taylor. Ryan, is a University Anthropology Professor, and Jennifer, is a successful psychologist in partnership with Steven Richards. Steven's wife Helen, like Ryan, is a professor at the same university, but in Old English Literature. However, the story is also about the social and marital conflicts of other couples who are invited to the party and how they deal with being confronted with that more risqué than before rumor!This is the Pre-AIDS time where the characters grew up in the Free Love Culture of the Sixties, who then, went on to become successful party loving yuppie professionals. Although, spas and hot tubs during this time were common, the idea of Ric's party being "more risqué", has all invited guests dealing with that now ever-evolving rumor. This is not a story about sex, but instead, one about the social challenges caused by the risqué rumor to the commonly accepted social norms of the time!