Mike Latimer (Don Keefer), a janitor at the prestigious Horlicks University, drops a quarter which rolls behind a grate under a basement staircase. While attempting to retrieve it, he comes across a wooden storage crate marked "Ship to Horlicks University via Julia Carpenter - Arctic Expedition - June 19, 1834" hidden underneath the staircase. He calls Dexter Stanley (Fritz Weaver), a biology professor, to notify him of the find, drawing Dexter away from a faculty social gathering. Also at the gathering is Dexter's good friend and colleague, the mild-mannered Professor Henry Northrup (Hal Holbrook), who witnesses his perpetually drunk, obnoxious, and emotionally abusive wife Wilma (Adrienne Barbeau), whom he often daydreams of killing, annoy the guests and embarrass both herself and Henry at the gathering.