Day begins in Detroit, Michigan, as Caroline Butler wakes her husband, Jack, and their children, Alex, Kenny, and Megan. After breakfast, Jack, an engineer for an automobile company, carpools to work with fellow coworkers Larry and Stan, and supervisor Jinx Latham, all of whom are concerned about rumored layoffs among their ranks. Shortly after arriving, Jinx lays off the three engineers, and despite his apologies and promises of a generous severance package, all feel betrayed. When Jack returns home, Caroline suggests they both seek new employment. Jack is skeptical and bets her one dollar he will find work before she does, but Caroline wins, securing a position at the Richardson-Frankel advertising agency. She leaves for her first day on the job with Jack’s assurance that he can manage the household in her absence. Caroline’s first assignment is to observe a meeting in which company president Ron Richardson and his account executives create a new advertising campaign for Schooner tuna. When no agreement is reached, Ron asks Caroline’s opinion, and she criticizes the various campaign proposals for their lack of appeal to housewives. Ron is impressed with Caroline’s fresh perspective and invites her to join him on his private jet for a visit to the Schooner plant the next day. Meanwhile, Jack encounters difficulties in a supermarket, misplacing both Kenny and Megan as he causes mishaps around the store. He also meets attractive divorcee Joan Hampton, who informs her friend, Annette, of her plans to break up the Butlers’ marriage. In the morning, Ron arrives by limousine to take Caroline to the airport. Jack feels threatened and asserts his masculinity by donning overalls and carrying a chainsaw, but Ron sees through the pretense. Left to manage the house on his own, Jack struggles with an overloaded washing machine, a runaway vacuum cleaner, and Megan’s diarrhea. Later, while waiting for a job interview, Jack realizes his situation is not unique as he listens to two other “househusbands” as they swap recipes. Caroline takes her family to a company picnic at Ron’s estate, where Jack competes against Ron and his executives in a race through an obstacle course. As he approaches the finish line, Jack feigns an injury and allows Ron to win so as not to jeopardize Caroline’s job. Jack becomes resigned to unemployment, and as his self-esteem erodes, he neglects his home as well as himself, spending much of his time drinking beer, watching daytime dramas on television, and playing poker with Joan, Annette, and other single mothers. Caroline resents Jack’s attitude, arguing that she took pride in her role as a full-time parent. The next day, Jack has a daydream in which he is seduced by Joan and shot by a jealous Caroline, who leaves him for Ron. Determined to save his marriage, Jack dedicates himself to his household duties and wins back his wife’s respect. At the agency, Caroline conceives a campaign for Schooner tuna, in which company president Howard Humphries publicly announces a fifty percent price reduction as a concession to families who are struggling in the current depressed economy. Humphries approves, demanding that Ron place Caroline in charge of his account. On Halloween, Caroline travels to Los Angeles, California, for the filming of Humphries’ announcement, despite protests from Jack and the children. While Caroline is away, Jack is offered a chance to resume his career if he testifies before a review board, which is investigating Jinx’s mismanagement of company funds. Unable to find a babysitter, Jack brings the children to the meeting, and his statement is interrupted by Megan’s urgent need for a clean diaper. That evening, Joan and Annette take Jack to dinner, then to a male strip club as consolation for his lost opportunity. In Caroline’s Los Angeles hotel room, Ron tries to seduce her with a romantic dinner. He also intercepts a telephone call from Jack, who concludes that his wife is having an affair and breaks the television in a fit of anger. In retaliation, Caroline punches Ron in the nose and quits her job. In Detroit, Jack works through his anger by painting the house, while repairwoman Doris fixes the television, and Bert, the exterminator, fumigates the basement. Aware that Caroline is out of town, Joan corners Jack in the bedroom, but he remains faithful to his wife. Caroline enters and orders Joan out, then accuses her husband of infidelity. The argument is cut short by the arrival of Jinx, who begs Jack to return to work. Ron appears moments later, asking Caroline to return to her job. Doris and Bert negotiate new contracts for the couple, while Jack, Caroline, and the children celebrate their good fortune. Meanwhile, Humphries appears on television, announcing Schooner tuna’s new low price.