邦尼(艾丹•奎因 Aidan Quinn 饰)在汽车修理厂工作。他有一个智障的妹妹琼(玛丽•斯图尔特•马斯特森 Mary Stuart Masterson 饰)令他非常操心。为了照顾妹妹,邦尼一直单身,因为他不想把琼送到专门的疗养院。某一天,邦尼和琼遇到了一个不速之客——邦尼朋友的远房亲戚萨姆(约翰尼•德普 Johnny Depp 饰)。这个萨姆行为古怪,他在酒吧里可以用面包玩出花样,还会模仿经典影片的桥段,逗大家开心。于是,邦尼邀请他做自己妹妹的保姆。在相处中,两个年轻人渐渐建立了一种特殊的感情。同时,邦尼也遇到了心上人路西(朱丽安•摩尔 Julianne Moore 饰),但是对妹妹的责任感让他对这段恋情有所忌惮。或许是出于对妹妹的爱,他拒绝萨姆的请求,结果萨姆带着琼私奔了。但是,因为改变环境,琼开始发疯,她被强制送进了医院……
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.