After building his dream house, architect Newton Davis proposes marriage to his girlfriend, only to be summarily rejected. He seeks solace in a one-night stand with a waitress, never imagining that a woman he slept with once would end up posing as his wife. Gwen's ruse is so effective that by the time Newton learns of his "marriage," the entire town feels like they know him.

Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes that the case should actually go to court—to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients... and to restore his standing as a lawyer.

A young woman (Debra Margolies) just out of prison tries to make a new life in Boston.