Barney and Roo are cane-cutters in tropical Queensland. The two friends and co-workers have spent their last sixteen summers with two city women, namely Olive and Nancy. Before the seventeenth summer, Nancy gets married. Olive is forced to get another woman friend to replace Nancy. Pearl is considered an ideal woman to substitute for Nancy. In every summer, Roo makes out with Olive and Barney with Nancy. The seventeenth summer is different from other summers because Nancy is married, and Roo has lost his job. Bubba, Olive’s neighbor, has been envying their lifestyle.
Every summer, Roo brings Olive a kewpie doll. Therefore, this summer, he has brought the seventeenth kewpie doll. When Pearl and Barney finally manage to meet, Pearl is not impressed with Barney. Pearl is appalled by Barney’s baby mothers. Barney offers to take Pearl out. After the outing, Pearl confesses to Olive that Barney has not taken her to a fabulous place. The main characters know that they are aging, and they must get settled soon. Roo insists on staying with Olive in her place. The suggestion makes Olive mad at him. Finally, the lovers sever ties, and Barney and Roo leave.
The play shows how illusions of love break inevitably. Barney has been in love with Nancy for sixteen summers but is shocked to learn that she has gotten married. On the other hand, Roo has trusted Olive for all those years, but when he requests her to stay in her place, she becomes mad at him. The two men’s optimism of love fails miserably. The two feel betrayed. Roo displays her annoyance by shattering the seventeenth doll. The characters are disillusioned with love and eventually become agitated.
