Their marriage is shaky, so they agree to spend the summer together as a trial period at an isolated beach house on Choke Cherry Bay.

Frustrated with his childish immaturity, Lily gets in the car to drive away, but Timothy jumps onto the moving vehicle, hangs onto the windshield and cajoles her into stopping.

Their landlord and only neighbor for miles around is Major Evelyn Ritchie (Alan Alda), a Vietnam veteran about 10 years their senior who owns two highly trained Doberman Pinschers and walks with crutches due to one of his legs being amputated.

Although Ritchie chuckles at the Frischers' gentle bickering, Lily intuits that he is growing annoyed by Timothy's questioning and apologizes for their enthusiasm.

Another day later, as Lily and Ritchie walk along the beach, she explains that she met Timothy when he jumped out at her wearing a clown nose and made her laugh.

Meanwhile, as Timothy is taking photographs of himself and the area, he encounters another bay resident, an older veteran named Stanley (Eric Clavering), who simply stares at him in amusement when he tries to start a conversation.

Timothy then bursts into the room, with his face covered in shaving cream to imitate the white makeup of a mime and begins to perform "the definitive ape."

The next morning, Ritchie wakens the hungover Timothy and, treating him like a subordinate in the military, orders him to carry a pile of rocks to the beach.

Leaving one of the dogs to guard Timothy, Ritchie proceeds to the beach house, where he wakens Lily, and stands at the door to her bedroom until she gets up and dresses.

As Timothy continues to move the pile of rocks, Ritchie and Lily sit and watch from the beach house porch.

At the same time, Stanley visits Ritchie, who shares with him military stories of tormenting subordinates, and their loud laughter, amplified by the water, unnerves Lily and Timothy.

The next day, which happens to be the Fourth of July, American Legionnaires ceremoniously present Ritchie with a flag to honor his deceased father, a colonel, as part of an annual ritual.