Newton Davis (Steve Martin) is a struggling architect. After building his dream house for himself and his longtime girlfriend Becky (Dana Delany) in his hometown, he is crushed when she refuses to marry him. He is unable to bring himself to live in the house, and leaves it abandoned and with a debt he cannot afford. Some time later, Newton meets a waitress named Gwen (Goldie Hawn) at a Hungarian restaurant in Boston. Believing that she cannot speak English, he spills out his sob story about Becky and the abandoned house. After the restaurant closes for the night, Newton learns she merely pretended to be Hungary, and can speak English. He walks her home, which turns out to be a small apartment upstairs at the restaurant. They end up having sex.