回忆起儿时，童年居住在郊区的一个小房子里，和母亲、嗜酒如命的父亲，以及患有哮喘，戴着弱视贴布的哥哥生活在一起。还养着一只叫珍妮特的小鸟。父亲年轻的时候是个默剧小丑演员，因演出事故，而落下了终身残疾，整天用酒精麻痹自己度日。“我”跟哥哥相处的很好，整天寻找着新鲜事物，如烧蚂蚁、一起画画、收集罐子、看宠物蜥蜴吃苍蝇（偶尔给它一只蜗牛吃）等。有一天，我们从熟睡的父亲口袋里拿了些许钱，跑到Ruby糖果店买棒棒糖。“我”哥哥喜欢收集烟蒂，他有一个梦想：像他未残疾之前的父亲一样，成为一名杂技演员。 　　本片是导演亚当•艾略特自述三部曲的第三部。Adam looks back, with affection, to his childhood in a small suburban house, with his mum, his crippled and alcoholic dad, their bird Jeanette, and his older brother, who wears an eye patch, has asthma, and gets blamed for things even when he's not around. The boys are boon companions, swiping money from their napping dad and heading for Ruby's store to buy lollies. They draw, collect cans, and watch the brother's pet lizard eat flies (occasionally giving it a snail). Adam's brother has a collection of cigarette butts, and he has a dream: to be an acrobat like their father was before his accident. Can dreams come true?