Rich boy Craig Blake (Jeff Bridges) has set his sights on a piece of prime real estate and tries to wangle it away from its owner. To ice the deal, Craig poses as a member of a bodybuilder gym. But to his surprise, he begins to like the characters he meets there. The charming gym rats include Joe Santo (Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his first major screen role) and Joe's working-class girlfriend, Mary Tate (Sally Field).