Marlo Manners [Mae West] has just married for the sixth time, and her latest union is with Sir Michael Barrington [Timothy Dalton], a knight whose status matches Marlo’s public fame. The newlyweds head to a honeymoon suite in a posh London hotel that also doubles as the site of an international conference, a gathering where world leaders come together to ease tensions that could threaten global stability. As the hotel’s lobby swells with excitement, chairman Mr. Chambers [Walter Pidgeon] tries to bring the meeting to order, only to witness delegates press against the windows in sheer curiosity at Marlo’s arrival.
Inside the suite, the romance stalls under the weight of Marlo’s relentless schedule. Her career demands—interviews, dress fittings, and photo sessions—keep the couple from sharing a private moment, while an assortment of admirers swirl around them. Among the most persistent are the ex-husband crowd and powerful figures: the Russian delegate Alexei Andreyev Karansky [Tony Curtis], the theater director Laslo Karolny [Ringo Starr], and the American gangster Vance Norton [George Hamilton], alongside an entire American athletic team, all hoping for a personal encounter with Marlo.
Meanwhile, Dan Turner [Dom DeLuise], Marlo’s manager and guardian of her public image, races to locate an audiotape that contains her memoirs and could ruin her carefully built reputation if it falls into the wrong hands. The memoirs reveal extensive details about Marlo’s affairs and the many men who have crossed her orbit, casting a shadow over the high-stakes negotiations taking place just beyond the suite’s doors. Ex-husband Alexei threatens to derail delicate diplomatic talks unless he can secure one more intimate moment with her, intensifying a web of personal and political pressure.
The plot threads tighten as the hotel becomes a stage where personal histories collide with global diplomacy. Marlo is pressured to operate “undercover” to help push the world toward peace, balancing the demands of a sensational public persona with the quiet, dangerous work of international negotiation. The narrative unfolds through a kaleidoscope of encounters—ranging from paparazzi flashes in the lobby to hushed conversations in the conference rooms—creating a vivid portrait of a world where private desire and public duty constantly collide.
Throughout, the film keeps a brisk, satirical tone, using Marlo’s star power and the absurdities of celebrity culture to illuminate broader themes about power, loyalty, and the cost of fame. The performances from the ensemble cast—played against the backdrop of a glittering hotel that doubles as a geopolitical arena—offer a playful yet pointed meditation on how the personal and the political intertwine when the spotlight shifts from the ballroom to the world stage.
