Ann Winters (Rosalind Russell) has just written an article on the keys to preserving a marriage, which include abstinence from sex for the first three months. Her newlywed husband, Tice (Melvyn Douglas), agrees to test this theory, convinced that he will be able to seduce her. However, Ann proves to be much more difficult to sway than he anticipated, and by the time she's finally ready to consummate the marriage, he comes down with a poison-oak rash.