Dancer Paula McFadden and her ten-year-old daughter Lucy live in a Manhattan apartment with her married boyfriend, Tony DeForrest, until one day, he deserts her to go and act in a film in Italy. Before he left and unbeknownst to Paula, Tony subleased the apartment to Elliot Garfield, a neurotic but sweet aspiring actor from Chicago, who shows up in the middle of the night expecting to move in. Though Paula is demanding and also neurotic, and makes clear from the start that she doesn't like Elliot, he allows her and Lucy to stay.