三兄妹齐聚乡下为母亲Hélène（Edith Scob 饰）七十五岁生日庆贺，一家三代子孙满堂其乐融融。饭后母亲却对长子Frédéric（查尔斯·贝尔林 Charles Berling 饰）提及到自己死后如何处置遗产的事情，Frédéric有点焦躁，不愿母亲提起这个话题。但是Hélène坚持把一切的物件下落布置好，她通知儿子这间祖屋将会卖掉，她用终身去尊崇的叔叔、画家保罗的的画作又该如何处置等等，...

As the film opens on an Oklahoma farm during the depression, two simultaneous visitors literally hit the Wagoneer home a ruinous dust storm and a convertible crazily driven by Red, the missus' brother...