 After work, Lucy, a keypunch operator, meets Walter, a short, balding, bespectacled computer technician who is her supervisor. She tells him that he is a forgettable bore, and hands back her ring, breaking their six-week engagement. Walter walks past a custom wig shop, and enters. Soon he is persuaded to buy a $250 human hair toupee and beard. He stops at a bar and overhears Noreen and Curly talking about sailing. He tells them that he is Philip Marshall, an expert yachtsman who has sailed the Caribbean and around the world several times. Noreen tells Curly that it is 5:15, and he is late for an appointment. When Philip and Noreen are alone, he offers to teach her how to sail. He then goes home to his room and board walk-up, where the manager, Mrs. Adams, confronts him. He identifies himself as Philip, and says that he is a friend of Walter. In his room, he looks out the window, and sees Curly watching him. He removes his wig and beard. The next morning, Mrs. Adams tells Walter that she has a letter for Philip from Curly. She demands back rent for Philip, whom she thinks has been freeloading. Walter tells her that he was just a visitor, and he will move rather than pay any more rent. As Philip, he moves into Mrs. Jones  rooming house. He then sets up a date with Noreen at Keefer s Marina. He confides in Keefer that he knows nothing about ships, but wants to impress the girl, so Keefer sells him a $3000 boat on credit. Noreen, who is legally separated from a rich husband, has a luxury apartment. As Philip leaves the apartment, he is approached by Curly, who calls him Walter. Curly coerces Philip into stashing a $50,000 booty of silver and jewelry at his boat s mooring, or else Curly will tell Noreen about the masquerade. Mrs. Adams runs a personal ad seeking the whereabouts of Walter Mills or Philip Marshall, and gets a response from Mrs. Jones. She meets with Jones, and they suspect that Mills and Marshall are avoiding rent by doubling up, or that Marshall has killed Mills, so they call the police. When Philip gets home, he is confronted by a lieutenant, who asks him to prove that he did not murder Mills. In front of everyone, including Adams and Jones, he removes his wig and beard. Nevertheless, the lieutenant suspects that only a criminal would use such a disguise, and plans to contact everyone Walter knows. Walter then goes to Noreen s apartment to explain why Philip will not appear. Once inside, the drab little man puts his wig and beard on, and chides himself over his Halloweenish behavior. To his surprise, Noreen kisses him. He tells her about Curly, and she convinces him to remove the loot from his dock. He enters the marina that night, and must reveal his wig and beard in order to get past Keefer. When he finishes pulling up the rope to which the bag of stolen goods is attached, a police boat shines its light on him. As they begin to take Walter away, a dead body is spotted on the pier. It is identified as Joseph Kimberly, Noreen s husband.