Eric's art gallery is losing money, and even though his psychiatrist wife wants to help, she can't do much to cheer him up. When a young, sexy woman named Toni accepts a sales position at the gallery, she instantly brings it back to life, jump-starting Eric's troubled marriage in the process. But the marital problems soon come back, prompting accusations that Eric is having an affair with Toni.

Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs".