When Raymond Ellis (Wilson) andis Oliviaa Elliscompulsive (Nichols)gambler separate after seven years of marriage, Rayand abandons thehis family (hisOlivia wifeEllis (Nichols), 7-year-old son Jordan, and 5-year-old daughter Angie (Fields) ) and heads to [[California]]. While7 years later, while in California, Ray finds out that his wife plans to remarry to Colonel Wallace Dickey, and that he has been declared legally dead. This prompts him to move back to Washington, D.C., where he tries to win back Olivia by proving he is a better husband, and a better father to his kids, and to prove that he is still legally alive. However, he now has to contend with his troublesome mother-in-law Luzelle (Helen Martin) and Olivia's soon to be husband Colonel Dickey.
