The daughter of mild-mannered Manhattan dentist Sheldon "Shelly" Kornpett and the son of businessman Vince Ricardo are engaged to be married. At an introductory dinner in which Shelly (Alan Arkin) meets his new in-law Vince, he finds Vince (Peter Falk) suspicious; during the dinner, Vince tells a crazy story of a nine-month "consulting" trip to 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. Vince's son and wife seem oblivious. At one point in the dinner Vince excuses himself to make a phone call, and hides something in the basement. Later that night Shelly pleads with his daughter not to marry into the Ricardo clan, since he mistrusts Vince, but he is talked into giving the marriage a chance.