It's the 1950s. Tui is performing for Pania, the owner of a dingy Wellington strip joint called The Reef, when her country cousin and sister crash past the louche Maitre d' to save her from a disreputable life. Sissy is quickly flirting with Hohepa, an irresistible rogue she's encountered somewhere before and Whina takes a very quick fancy to the local James Dean who also happens to be Tui's boyfriend. The action turns to farce as the colourful characters all sing and dance their way through catchy nostalgic kiwi songs.