Tim, in his early 20s, is quiet, dependable, and held close by his mother, Jean, who works long hours at a Sydney canteen and then does stand-up at night, talking constantly about what might have been (if she'd stayed in England, if she'd had no children, if her younger son Mark weren't mildly disabled). She gets enough club work to keep hope alive. They've bought a moving van, and Tim meets Jill, falling for her but finding the challenges of sex, his mother's prying, and his brother's needs more than he can handle. The family - as well as Tim and Jill's relationship - is on the edge of crisis, accident, or, in Jane's case, self-destruction. Are family dynamics set in stone?