Alvin Malone is heavily in debt because of his addictive gambling; he is plagued by self-repressed homosexual tendencies; and he is finding it all very hard to reconcile with his Jewish heritage... not to mention with his wife. Between the crumbling ties of matrimony and threats of violence from his bookie, Alvin finds little time to look for work. Just when things seem their worst, his overbearing mother-in-law makes him an offer: 'Give me a grandchild and have your gambling debts settled for good.'