Pitiful Penelope's husband, Roland Stone, announces that he is leaving Penelope and their quintuplets for reasons he refuses to give; and neither pleading nor shedding tears on the cuffs of his pants will dissuade him. As Roland speeds off in the back of a taxi, Penelope runs after him. She slams into a stop sign and ends up in traction at the hospital. Her true blue friend, Big Dehlia, offers to take care of the babies while she is incapacitated. But her false and unfaithful friend, Kay Niver, informs her that social workers have already taken them away. Pitiful Penelope's search for that "elusive bluebird of happiness" becomes ever more elusive as her predicament grows ever more desperate.