Frustrated and bored with married life, Marge decides to throw a dinner party. Among the invited guests are the Flanders, the Hibberts, the Lovejoys, and Milhouse’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Van Houten. It soon becomes apparent to everyone at the party that the Van Houten’s marriage is in serious trouble, as Kirk and Luann engage in nonstop bickering throughout the evening. The rancor between the couple builds to a crescendo, culminating with Luann’s request for a divorce.

Afterward, Marge visits Luann at the Van Houten home. She discovers that Luann has already made the switch from unhappy housewife to swinging single. Kirk, meanwhile, moves into a tacky apartment complex for single men. To add insult to injury, he loses his job at the cracker factory. With surprising swiftness, Luann meets a handsome stuntman named Chase, and the couple have a torrid affair. Back at the Simpson home, Homer passes on an evening on the town with Marge, Luann and Chase. Fed up, Marge decides to go by herself. Later that night, at Moe’s bar, Homer and Kirk discuss married life. Kirk laments how one day his wife was making his favorite meal, and the next he was thawing hot dogs in a gas station sink. Homer claims that his marriage is built on a solid foundation of routine—something which can never be broken. But when Homer returns home, he discovers that Marge left his dinner—frozen hot dogs—thawing in the sink.

Convinced that his marriage is in trouble, Homer begins smothering Marge with too much attention. When Marge asks to be left alone, Homer concludes his efforts only made things worse. Resigned, he enters the marriage bureau at the county court house and files for divorce. Later, Homer surprises Marge by asking for her hand in marriage. Well-wishers gather in the Simpson living room as Reverend Lovejoy remarries Homer and Marge.