 Marilyn and Doug are in love, thinking about the possibility of marriage, and are encouraged by the words and the example of married friends Michael and Shirley who after several years seem to still be honeymooners. However, their attitudes and expectations reflect their upbringing. He finds her folks on the bohemian side, and she finds his parents to be "Victorian." Marilyn s divorced roommate Esther (who is attending a class on marriage), advises finding common interests, but Doug finds Marilyn s modern dancing dull, and she feels the same way about his fishing. Perhaps more importantly, Marilyn wants a career as well as children and Doug thinks raising a family is a full-time occupation for a wife.