"Slap" Maxwell is an old-school sportswriter: hard-working, uncompromised. Unfortunately, his type of writing doesn't fit well into the modern world. His wife wants to discover her own talents, which baffles Slap almost as much as his editor's bizarre metaphors. Slap only makes things worse by starting an affair with a young newswriter. Oh, and his only son turns out to not only not be a sports fan but also have absolutely no talent as a writer, despite Slap's dreams.