Archie Lee Meighan and Baby Doll Meighan, the middle-aged couple from Mississippi, have been married for nearly two years. Their union is not based on love but rather on mutual desires. The agreement between them states that they will consummate their marriage on her twentieth birthday, which is in three days. Baby Doll is not looking forward to this event as she taunts other men with her overt "baby doll" sexuality. She has fostered this aspect by sleeping in their house's nursery in a crib.
Baby Doll's deceased father allowed their marriage on the stipulation that Archie Lee provide financial security as displayed by the most resplendent house in the south. They currently live in a dilapidated mansion with her Aunt Rose Comfort, and although Archie Lee is making some renovations on it, he no longer has the financial means to make it what Baby Doll wants. His cotton ginning business is struggling.
