Beth had left her small Māori village and, despite her parents' objections, marries the violent and domineering Jake The Muss Heke. Now, eighteen years later, they live with their five children in an unkempt state house in South Auckland.
Jake is laid off from his job but shows little interest in finding new work. He receives the unemployment benefit and spends most days drinking at a nearby pub with friends and getting into bar fights. He often brings groups from the pub back to the family home for parties, during which he is physically violent toward Beth. On one occasion, he assaults her in front of the guests, who do not intervene. Beth in turn also begins drinking heavily and displays occasional outbursts towards her children. Their children are left to look after themselves and clean up the house following incidents of domestic violence.
Nig, the eldest son of the Heke family, moves out to join a gang whose rituals include getting facial tattoos. He undergoes an initiation beating, passes and is then embraced as a new brother. Nig cares about his siblings but despises his father he is angered when his mother is beaten but does not intervene. Nig's younger brother Mark, aka Boogie, is placed in a foster home as a ward of the state due to his parents' home life. Jake is unconcerned and hopes the experience will toughen him up. Despite his initial anger, Boogie finds a new niche for himself after the foster home's manager, Mr. Bennett, helps him embrace his Māori heritage. The family pools all their money to rent a car to visit Boogie. However, Jake stops at the pub and spends the day drinking, leaving the family waiting outside before they take a taxi home.
Spoken languages: English
Subtitles: Danish,Swedish,Norwegian,Finnish
