The year is 1967. Living in a boisterous and teeming central Dublin neighborhood, the Brownes have always gotten by. But with the unexpected death of her husband, Agnes (Anjelica Huston) and her seven children find their finances wanting. In order to give her husband the funeral he deserves, Agnes must borrow money from the insidious loan shark Mr. Billy ( Ray Winstone) - who makes no collections exceptions for widows or children. When a French baker takes an interest in her, Agnes realizes that she still has her own life to live, even as she must provide for her family. As she copes with propositions, puberty and poverty, she evinces her own special humour and style...and passes on those qualities to her children.