George Kimball, a hypochondriac, lives with his wife Judy Kimball in the suburbs. Judy learns from the milkman that their neighbors, the Bullards, are getting a divorce, and shares the news with George.
Over lunch, Winston Burr, a bachelor acquaintance, gleefully describes how he contacts women who are getting divorced and pretends to console them, hoping to seduce them while they are vulnerable. George visits his doctor and longtime friend, Ralph Morrissey, after experiencing chest pains. He overhears the doctor discussing on the phone a patient who only has a few weeks to live and assumes that Morrissey is talking about him, which leaves him distraught. On the train home, he confides in Arnold Nash that he believes he will die soon, and he resolves not to tell Judy, fearing it will upset her. Arnold solemnly vows to deliver the eulogy at his funeral.
That night, George dreams of Judy marrying a reckless young deliveryman named Vito, who cares more about Judy’s inheritance than her heart. He goes to a funeral home run by Mr. Akins to buy a burial plot for three people, including a hypothetical new husband for Judy, even giving a $1000 check made out to “Cash” so that Judy won’t learn the true purpose. He then decides to find Judy a new husband and asks Arnold to help him.
On a golf outing, Judy’s cart malfunctions and she is saved by her old college beau, Bert Power, now a Texas oil baron. George, consumed with jealousy over Bert’s interest in Judy, reluctantly agrees with Arnold that Bert would be a fitting husband for her. During an evening out, George makes Judy talk and dance with Bert. When he later encounters the newly divorced Linda Bullard, who is there with Winston, he escorts her to the coat room and warns her about Winston’s intentions. She thanks him and kisses him in gratitude. Judy, witnessing the moment, storms out, suspecting that George is pushing her toward Bert so he can justify his own affair with Linda. George then tells Judy that he is dying and suggests she call Dr. Morrissey for confirmation, which she accepts as proof of his claim.
Judy insists that George use a wheelchair to conserve energy, but when she sees Dr. Morrissey and learns that George is fine, she suspects he’s fabricating to avoid consequences for his affair. She wheels him out of the house and locks him out, announcing plans to divorce. George spends the night at Arnold’s place, where his many quirks force Arnold to bluntly critique the flattery he had planned for the eulogy. The next day, George begs Arnold for advice on stopping Judy from leaving. Arnold insists that, innocent as George may be, he must pretend to confess to an affair, assure Judy it’s over, and beg for forgiveness.
Judy leaves to buy a Reno train ticket, and George follows. In a bid to follow Arnold’s plan, he fabricates a story about an affair with a Dolores Yellowstone and shows Judy a stub from the $1000 check made out to “Cash,” allegedly for Dolores so she could start a new life in New York. The ruse backfires when Judy refuses to forgive him, even as he tries to retract the confession. When Judy returns home to fetch her bags, Mr. Akins arrives again with the burial contracts for George’s and Judy’s plots and reveals George’s check, along with the news that a third plot had been bought for her potential second husband. He is mortified to learn that Judy still doesn’t know about George’s surprise. Judy finally realizes that the Dolores Yellowstone story was a fabrication. When George arrives, Judy forgives him with genuine warmth, and Winston shows up hoping to win Judy over, only to be knocked aside by George who then presents Judy with the flowers Winston was carrying.
