Willy Grogan is a small-time boxing promoter based in the Catskills resort region of Cream Valley, New York (state). He owns the Grogan's Gaelic Gardens inn. He is a contemptible man and is in debt and pays little attention to the woman who loves him, Dolly, a chain-smoking, love-starved woman residing at the camp. Into their midst comes Walter Gulick, a young man recently discharged from the Army who loves the peaceful setting almost as much as he loves working on old cars. Walter's simple goal is to go into business as a mechanic at a nearby garage.