Nick, a 12-year-old boy, lives with his Uncle Murray, a Dickensian figure reminiscent of Mr. Micawber who is perpetually pessimistic. Social worker who falls in love with Murray and a touch of love for Nicholas emerges from the woodwork. After a long period of admiring his uncle's iconoclastic approach to life (which the child protection workers want in exchange for allowing him to keep Nick), the nephew is now playing the mediator. In the end, though, he is disturbed by the uncle's readiness to compromise with society in order to preserve the bond.