When George Kellerman (Jack Lemmon) is offered a promotion at work, he is invited to meet with the top executives in New York City. With the expenses for this trip paid for and grand style, George decides to invite his wife Gwen (Sandy Dennis) to join him for a day of vacation before his meeting. The two fly from Twin Oaks, Ohio with plans to land in New York and stay at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. But their flight gets diverted to Boston. They catch a train to Grand Central only to find that all of New York City seems to be on strike. When they arrive at their hotel, the two find that the hotel has already given away their room. Out in the pouring rain, in Central Park at night, things go from bad to worse for these unseasoned tourists in the big city.