Henry and Clarice Wilkins have been married twenty-three years and are a model suburban couple who have never had a quarrel. But when their daughter, Peggy, and her husband, Bill Trask, have a squabble, Clarice has a plan to show the daughter just how distasteful domestic bickering appears; She enters into an agreement with Henry that they will fake a fuss to serve as an object lesson. Clarice's will to play the game and her sense of humor play out at about the same time that Henry's remarks become more pointed as the charade goes on. Their fake fight is soon a real barn-burner.