Clothing manufacturer Harry Stoner (Jack Lemmon) mourns the loss of his youthful idealism even as he seals his fate by arranging to have an arsonist (Thayer David) torch his faltering factory for the insurance settlement. Stoner's conflicts with himself, his business partner (Jack Gilford), his distant wife (Patricia Smith) and a demanding client (Norman Burton) boil over during a nightmarish presentation at a fashion show, while a free-spirited hippie girl (Laurie Heineman) offers escape.