An amiable, oversized man seeks admission to an officers' training camp but is rejected for exceeding strict weight limits. With the support of a fit friend, he confronts humiliating examinations, dieting schemes, and comical exercise attempts as he tries to meet rigid physical standards. The narrative mixes farce and military satire, moving between convivial eating-house scenes and regimented camp life while tracking private anxieties and public embarrassments. Recurring themes include camaraderie, the pressures of masculine identity, and the bureaucratic absurdities of wartime mobilization.