一直以来,乔(汤姆·汉克斯 Tom Hanks 饰)都是一个在工作上勤勤恳恳的合格职员,不幸的是,好运并没有因为乔的恪尽职守而对他亲睐有加,恰恰相反,医生告诉乔,他患了不治之症,只剩下几个月的寿命了。 心灰意冷的乔决定对一直以来暗恋的女同事表白,没想到却被拒绝,就在这时,一个神秘的富商出现在了乔的面前。富商告诉乔,如果乔愿意在特定之日跳进一座位于岛上的火山中,他就能够得到大笔金钱,时日无多的乔答应了这笔交易。在前往小岛的途中,乔认识了富商的女儿派翠西亚(梅格·瑞恩 Meg Ryan 饰),两人在波折中产生了真挚的感情,为了能够和乔在一起,派翠西亚甚至愿意同他一起跳入火山口里。
At Christine's funeral, her foster son suddenly shows up, a grown-up man with whom the family has been out of contact for quite some time. He brought a letter, stating that Christine wants to be buried in Wentelen, to the bewilderment of her biological children, and even more so to that of her husband. In addition to that, all the relatives are surprised that the foster son of Christine apparently maintained a correspondence with Christine. Nevertheless, Christine's last wish is respected, and they decided to bury her in Wentelen, and wish to do so traditionally, meaning walking behind the hearse. During a walk of several days, all the relatives (foster sisters, foster father, alleged friends and real ones, the foster son, lovers) have enough time to get to know each other better. Because in the end they have no other conclusion than that nobody really knew anyone. Old intrigues are dug up, the foster sisters finally learn why the foster brother just disappeared from the family, and they can begin to develop a real image of the mother. Once Christine's final resting place is reached and she is buried, all family ties, good and bad, are shaken around.