In 1960s San Francisco, Andy Hobart (Tony Roberts) does everything he can to keep his struggling, two-man, radical underground newspaper, the Nitty Gritty, going; he steals food from the supermarket and other people's laundry from the dry cleaners, and holds off his creditors, especially the landlord, Mrs. MacKaninee (Elizabeth Allen), and his printer, Mr. Karlson (Artie Lewis). To appease Mrs. MacKaninee, he accompanies her motorcycling, waterskiing, and surfing. He lives with talented, but nerdy Norman Cornell (Todd Susman), who writes the entire newspaper.
One day, a perky, talkative Southern girl moves into the bungalow across from them. Amy Cooper (Sandy Duncan) has come to the big city to train for the Olympics with the best swimming coach in the country. Norman falls instantly in love with her (or rather with the way she smells) and neglects his writing, causing Andy untold headaches.
Norman drives Amy to distraction with his misguided, over-the-top attempts to win her affection. When he unintentionally gets her fired from her day job, Andy hires her as a secretary, just to keep Norman happy (and writing). Then something unexpected happens. Despite despising everything Andy stands for, the conservative Amy discovers (to her great disgust) that she is physically attracted to him and likes the way he smells, which is rather awkward, since she is scheduled to marry another swimmer in a few weeks. When she informs Andy, he is uncertain how to react. She gets him to kiss her to see how it feels, at which point Norman walks in.
Amy decides to go back to Florida because Andy isn't interested in her. Norman quits over what he considers a betrayal, but quickly changes his mind and goes back to work, cured of Amy. Meanwhile, Andy discovers to his horror that the smell of Amy permeates the room even after she's gone. He chases after her and gets her to come back.