It begins when an author of children's books is dumped by her lawyer husband of fourteen years on the same night that her best friend, a highly respected behavioral scientist, loses her job in a federal budget cut. In financial and profession straits, the two women, entrepreneurial by necessity, determine that that the path to fame and fortune is publication of a best-selling book on the sexual behavior of women in management. Their plan to pick up where Kinsey (and those to follow) left off ignores the niceties of literary and scientific integrity, with touches of plagiarism and outright messing with the truth. Designing and printing their survey instruments is difficult enough, but more troubling is their attempt to complete some of the questionnaires themselves while hidden away in the laundry room.
In an attempt to lend an air of legitimacy to their madcap project, they launch focus groups around the country attended by women in management eager to discuss how their success in the world of business has-or has not-affected their success in the world of romance. In short order, the women become darlings of the media, which threatens discovery of the not-quite-honest nature of their research.
Involved in this rambunctious romp into the worlds of sex research, publishing, and equal romantic opportunities for successful women are an unfaithful husband, a devastatingly handsome FBI agent, a nerdish millionaire, a gifted 12-year-old going on forty, a housekeeper with an attitude, and a wacky government administrator with vengeance in his heart. Legitimate or not, the women's unique project culminates in a controversial, nationwide conversation about sex in the workplace.