Charlie Lang, a New York cop with a heart of gold, wins a share of the lottery. However, the day before, having been caught without enough money to tip waitress (Yvonne), Charlie offers her half the winnings. Charlie's wife, Muriel, is the complete opposite of her husband. She wants more and more money, and she's not impressed by Charlie's honest and kind nature. As Charlie and Muriel grow apart, Charlie and Yvonne grow together.

The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. For twenty-four years, Penzo served as a waitress at Sal's Pizzeria in Yonkers, New York. Cunningham, a thirty-year veteran of the police force in nearby Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., was a regular customer at the restaurant, well-liked by the staff there. (His favorite dish was linguine with clams.) One day in March, 1984, Cunningham asked Penzo for help picking his weekly lottery numbers. Penzo suggested three numbers, and Cunningham came up with three more numbers on his own. Cunningham jokingly promised that if he won, he would split the winnings with Penzo as a tip. The next day, to Penzo's surprise, Cunningham and his wife came to the diner with the winning lottery ticket in hand. Cunningham's ticket had won $6 million, which he split with Penzo, giving her $3 million. In real life, however (as stated in a disclaimer at the end of the movie), Cunningham and Penzo were both happily married to other people for many years.

Muriel Lang:
You should be locked up in that looney bin on Staten Island that Geraldo Rivera is always exposing!

Continuity: The morning after the cop and waitress spend the night together at the Plaza, just before they exit the elevator in the lobby, we see the reporter Angel Dupree reading a newspaper. The picture below the headline is of Charlie and Yvonne exiting the Plaza together, but they haven't left yet, nor have any pictures been taken.

Music by Johnny Richards
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Reprised by Tony Bennett and Shawn Colvin during the closing credits