The Arrangement

Los Angeles-based ad executive Eddie Anderson, born Evangelos Arness to Greek immigrant parents, has launched what is the latest in a string of successful ad campaigns, this one for Zephyr cigarettes, the campaign touting them as the "clean" choice, despite what are now the well known health risks of smoking. One day as Eddie is driving to work, he is involved in a major car accident, which could have easily taken his life, but which lands him in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. What only his faithful wife, Florence Anderson, suspects is that Eddie himself caused the accident in an effort to commit suicide. She is only partly correct as Eddie subconsciously changed his mind at the last split second to avoid being killed in the accident. Eddie and Florence have a rather clinical relationship, Florence realizing that he is going through issues, about which he doesn't talk. One of the manifestations of those issues is that he embarked on an affair that Florence is well aware of with a younger woman named Gwen, who worked at the ad agency and whom Florence refers to as the office tramp. Florence is not far off the mark as Gwen was hired primarily into that role for whatever purpose required. Gwen ultimately moved on after Eddie, when she realized that he was not going to divorce Florence. Gwen now lives in New York. Florence says she just wants to help Eddie deal with whatever issues he is facing so that they can move on with their lives together in a positive manner. During his physical and emotional recuperation, Eddie is called to New York to deal with his ailing abusive father, Sam Arness. Eddie's relationship with Sam and the lure to see Gwen while in New York affect what happens in Eddie's life in a holistic sense.