Quackser Fortune (Gene Wilder) is a carefree fertilizer merchant in Dublin. Something of a local "character," Quackser becomes the object of fascination for wealthy American visitor Zazel Pierce (Margot Kidder). At first, the radical differences in their stations in life make little difference to Quackser and Zazel, but before long she grows bored by his eccentricities. Humiliated by Zazel's rich friends at a fancy, dress ball, Quackser retreats to his old vocation of following the horses to gather his "wares." When his cousin in the Bronx passes away and leaves him a small inheritance, Quackser leaves Dublin, holding out hopes that now he will be an acceptable mate for Zazel. If this film were any more fey and quirky, it would be an episode of
Northern Exposure
. The rambling storyline is held together by the superb performance of Gene Wilder, who at this point in his career had not yet succumbed to "the cutes."