Dobie meets the beautiful but high maintenance Thalia Menninger. With the help of his beatnik buddy, Maynard G. Krebs, Dobie plots to rig the movie theater's jackpot giveaway to get enough money to take Thalia to the junior prom--that is, if his conscience doesn't get in the way.

Dobie has the soul of a poet, but greedy Thalia wants him to become a doctor. That means science classes, and that's where Dobie first meets Zelda Gilroy, the girl that will eventually pursue Dobie harder than he pursues even Thalia.