It is November 21, 1963, and Eddie and his best friends Boland and Bernstein (The Three Bees) decide to spend their last night before deployment in a “dogfight”: who can find the ugliest girl in town and bring her to a party where she will be judged? The marines enthusiastically jump into the cruel contest. But when Eddie finally finds Rose Fenny, an awkward waitress who has never been on a date, he has a change of heart. She learns about the dogfight, but is determined to not let it define her as an ugly and pathetic girl, and her optimism has a profound effect on Eddie’s worldview.