Overview

Ben is a natively intelligent but slightly unstrung young man in revolt against a system which consigns him to being a mail carrier and to living in a tumble-down basement apartment. In a gesture of defiance he kidnaps a young woman and drags her to his lair, the object being that she, at least, will do as and what he orders—fulfilling the urge for domination that life has hitherto denied him. At first Ben is abrupt and sharp with his victim, playing cat and mouse with her in the hope that she will begin to panic and squirm. But while Gloria, a suburban housewife and mother, is hardly used to this sort of thing, she is also somewhat dissatisfied with the status quo herself. At first she must listen, but soon she is the one who leads the touching and funny conversation that ensues. Mutual confessions and confidences are forthcoming, and by the time Ben reveals that his dream of becoming a teacher was shattered by an inability to cope with French, Gloria is ready and willing to take on the job of tutoring him. But he sticks to his resolve to have his way with her and she, in turn, fools him again by being less the protesting victim than the willing conspirator. In the end he lets her go—but already she is making plans to drop by every Thursday when her dull husband will take it for granted that she is off playing bridge with friends.