Professor Kugelmass teaches humanities at City College in New York City. Kugelmass is in the middle of his second unhappy marriage, to Daphne, and has two unremarkable children from his first marriage. The professor is also short of money as he pays his first wife a healthy alimony check along with child support. He had thought Daphne would be different than his first wife and that he would be happy, but Daphne nags him, and he is bored.

Kugelmass tells his therapist that he wants to have an affair. He wants romance and excitement not the continuation of this unhappiness. His therapist tells Kugelmass that having an affair would not solve his problems but Kugelmass continues his verbal train of thought musing about whom he would like to have an affair with and where the affair would take place. Finally the therapist interrupts Kugelmass's wondering...