15-year-old Sheldon Blecher is overweight, with a self-destructive driving instructor father and pyromaniac mother who never quite seem to fit into their community. His egotistical failed-actor brother has just returned home and taken up residence in his bedroom after marking the territory. His family business is on its way down the toilet, and under investigation for tax evasion. AND, on top of all this, he lives in Winnipeg.