Julien lives in the same house with his verbally abusive father, sympathetic grandmother, younger sister Pearl, and would-be wrestler brother Chris. Spending his days wandering the streets and visiting the neigborhood bowling alley, Julien surrounds himself with a colorful assortment of characters. But only over time does the deep disfunction of his family become fully apparent. Julien is sleeping with Pearl, who is pregnant, while his father is brainwashing Chris with a never-ending regime of training and exercise. As tenuous as his family already is, Julien's world comes crashing down when Pearl is badly injured in a skating rink accident.