Emotionally stunted child-like woman Jamie Godard not only suffers from an unhealthy fixation on her long absent father, but also has an obsession with all the toys he gave her as a little girl. After getting a job at a toy store, Jamie decides to marry co-worker Charlie Belmond. When the marriage doesn't work out, Jamie runs away to New York City and becomes a prostitute who specializes in servicing perverted old men who want to play daddy with her.

The story concerns the difficulties and reactions of Maddalena (Sophia Loren), an Italian visitor to New York City. She has come to the country carrying a huge mortadella sausage which she intends as a gift for her fiancé. But Customs do not allow processed meat to enter the U.S., so she is held at JFK airport...