Life in a dismal bureaucratic cul-de-sac is not what the irreverent, high-flying Robert Amiss expects when the British civil service lends him for a year to the British Conservation Corporation. Morale in this all-male environment is not improved by the arrival of Melissa, a radical feminist lesbian separatist. It is only Amiss sense of humor and the joys of visiting his new love Rachel that keep him sane.