A jazz trio sings of the dream life in suburbia while a married couple, Sam and Dinah, argue over breakfast in their suburban home. Dinah accuses Sam of having an affair with his secretary, which he denies. She also reminds him that their son, Junior, is in the school play that afternoon. Sam says that he can’t attend because he is playing in a crucial handball tournament at the gym.  At work, Sam deftly handles business by phone and agrees to lend money to a friend while refusing another’s request. The Trio extols Sam’s virtues. Meanwhile, in her analyst’s office, Dinah recounts her dream of an untended garden, choked with weeds. In the dream, she hears a voice describing another garden where love and harmony thrive. Still at the office, Sam interrogates his secretary about her reaction to his behavior.

By chance, Sam and Dinah run into each other on the street at lunchtime. They both invent excuses to avoid having lunch together. Alone, they each wonder where their relationship went wrong. The Trio continues to extol family life in suburbia. At the gym, Sam has won the handball tournament. He reflects triumphantly on the law of men; that they are created unequal with some losers and some winners. Dinah has spent the afternoon at the cinema watching a South Sea romance called Trouble in Tahiti. At first, she dismisses it as drivel but as she recalls the theme song, “Island Magic”, she becomes lost in an escapist fantasy. She pauses to prepare dinner. As he arrives home, Sam reflects on another law of men – that even the winner must pay for what he gets.

The Trio sings of evenings of domestic bliss in suburbia. Sam and Dinah try to talk about their relationship, but the effort quickly fails. Neither of them went to Junior’s play. Sam suggests a movie – something about Tahiti; “Why not?” Dinah says. As they leave, they express a longing to reconnect with each other; but for now they settle for the “bought-and-paid-for magic” of the movies.