 Sheridan Whiteside, an eccentric and acid-tongued radio lecturer, is disabled on the doorstep of a prominent Ohio family and must remain confined to the unwilling family s home for a few days. Discovering what he believes to be problems within the household, Sheridan ("Sherry") discovers his leg is fine. Bribing the doctor to declare him unfit to leave for a few weeks, Sherry hatches a plot to fix all of the household s problems. But has he made a mistake?