It is Sjoerd's birthday and his mother has spared no trouble or expense to make this day a pleasurable one. Helped by the au pair, she takes the eleven-year-old kid on a search, where an unfortunate coincidence puts them in the middle of a raid. The criminals take the complete party bunch hostage and then it is a matter of surviving for the birthday boy.

A small boy and his retarded brother are completely dominated by their old, grumpy, angry mother. She swears, beats and doesn't seem to know how to prepare a proper meal anymore. Her embittered attitude is the result of the great emptiness she feels since her only successful son left to join the army. From that day on the two other sons have to cope with this enraged mother. Every evening dinner consist of the same boring, sticky spaghetti. Luckily the youngest son made up an ingenious plan to change all this for ever.

The father of a severely mentally handicapped boy goes to find his son's run away mother in her native New York.