A tenuously connected group of nobodies trudge through their dreary Winnipeg existence. A sickly man in an unhappy marriage, a stand-up comedian whose sets are received with indifference, a stoner couple who share only trivial exchanges, and a young loner are each living lives lost in translation, detached from their surroundings and the people around them.

After a bad day at work, a fairground performer sets out to disprove the theory of heredity so that he can marry his sister.