Bob's old school friend Murdock is in town for a day to sell a complex giveaway item to a Chicago cereal company. Bob invites him to stay overnight at his home. The brief encounter stretches out to a week when Murdock can't make his business connections. He gradually takes over Bob's car, clothing, and most of his home life.
Howard insists on joining Bob and Emily's anniversary dinner at a fashionable Chicago restaurant in order to enlist their aid in popping the question to Ellen. But he chokes up in the clutch, and Bob is forced to do the proposing for him.
Bob's patients observe tradition by planning a surprise party to honor the fourth year of the group's therapy sessions. When an unseen member, a Mr. Gianelli, threatens to turn the party into a disaster, Bob kicks him out of the group. His decision meets with instant group approval until Mr. Gianelli dies under a ton of zucchini.
Bob is depressed by his seeming lack of success as a psychologist. He seeks help from his old college professor, who manages to heighten his despair by informing him that psychology is all nonsense.
Bob accepts a seemingly innocent invitation to appear as the guest on a TV discussion program. He winds up in the jaws of a dilemma when the show host turns out to have the disposition of a shark.
When she's given an assignment to see what makes a bunch of doctors tick, inquiring news reporter Ellen Hartley gives Bob and his medical cohorts the tell-it-like-it-is treatment.
Christmas Eve finds Bob in the hospital with tonsillitis and an impending operation. Meanwhile, his friends are all suffering from an attack of Christmas-itis.
Bob contends with a patient's delusion that her bingo game is fixed, staggers through a series of wild poker parties, and watches in wonder as his secretary slowly smothers under an attack of love.
