In this subversive comic extravaganza, Dublin-born film-school dropout Trevor finds himself washed up in New York where he answers an ad to work as a companion to Ed, a wheelchair-bound teenager with muscular dystrophy. Ed's family is very wealthy and very dysfunctional. Ed's father, a guilt-ridden judge, rarely emerges from his dusty study. Ed's morbidly obese, sexually perverse mother retired to her bed after a skiing incident ten years ago. They may live in the same luxurious apartment, but Ed and his parents barely interact. A bizarre yet touching friendship develops between Trevor and Ed–both men are equally in need of someone who can show them umderstanding and compassion.

Trevor has two major defining characteristics, the first, which people notice right off the bat, is his huge hands. The second is his Irish accent, heard in full flower when he spouts various long-winded theories about the human condition. Both attributes come in handy when he takes a job caring for a wheelchair-bound boy with muscular dystrophya rich kid on New Yorks Upper East Side who loves British prog-rock.