Matty is a no-nonsense, working class, 41-year-old mother of three, with a thousand yard stare whose life seems to come apart after a minor collision with a Belgian truck transporting Italian lollipops. The 29-year-old redhead driver Johnny has not only bruised her car but also her sense of self. Not only is Johnny uneducated, balding and a dozen years younger, it also turns out that he has an alcohol problem, a criminal record and a fondness for cheesy lyrics. Meanwhile, her art teacher husband Werner is trying to work out whether he prefers Matty to one of his 22-year-old students, while their three children are trying to figure out where they stand in relation to the opportunities and pratfalls of puberty. As Johnny worms his way into the heart of Matty and the lives of the other members of this dysfunctional, but lovable, family, it becomes clear that everyone has a right to happiness but that this right can be reached only by making choices, which are not always easy.