Set in the 1950s in the Sleep Tite pajama factory, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the workers are racing with the clock, under the watchful eye of Time and Motions man Hines. For months they've been struggling for a seven-and-a-half cents raise, and are now threatening to strike if the issue isn't resolved by the end of the month.
Not that all of the workers have their minds on the job at hand, though. Hines is consumed by unjustified jealousy whenever his girl, Gladys, so much as goes near another man. Whilst, married womanising, union president Prez, spends as much time pursuing the ladies as on union business.
Newcomer to town, Sid Sorokin, is appointed superintendent - the third one they've had this year - and tasked with keeping production running smoothly. Almost immediately, he has a run in with Babe Williams of the workers' Grievance Committee. Sid is soon smitten with feisty Babe and vice versa, but the brewing dispute, in which the pair are on opposing sides, soon looks set to come between them. When the workers begin a protest "slow down", and Babae deliberately sabotages the production line, Sid is forced to fire her.
Can Sid persuade the boss, Mr Hasler, to reach agreement on the raise and so avert the planned strike by the workers and keep the factory running? And can he win back Babe's heart too?
With songs like "I'm Not At All In Love", and "Hey There", plus the sultry "Steam Heat", and tango inspired "Hernando's Hideaway", Adler and Ross' 1950s score delighted audiences.