A wisecracking, white bigoted big-city insurance salesman, Jeff Gerber (Godfrey Cambridge) has it made. He's got a loving wife, Althea (Estelle Parsons), two cute kids and a nice suburban home. So after a session with his new sunlamp, Jeff goes to bed only to awaken to the fact that he's turned black. With his doctors unable to explain it, and the change permanent, Jeff is now forced to deal with an outraged wife, intolerant neighbors and a disbelieving boss. Resigned to his appearance, Jeff moves to a black neighborhood, where he opens an insurance company and begins a new life.