Cleveland. 1973. Marv, the owner of an old neighborhood Jewish deli, must stay open 24 hours to cater to a new generation of clientèle, but straight-laced neighborhood do-gooders want to close him down. Meanwhile inside, hippies, bikers and crusty old Jewish men, caught in the throes of changing times and culture clash, fight over turf and yearn for a waitress to take their orders. Into this milieu drops new waitress, Susan, a wholesome small town beauty who must struggle with testy customers, a dubious romance, and a jealous head-waitress. Her future and the fate of the regulars hang by a thread as Marv takes increasingly desperate measures to save his deli.

It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives. Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater.

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him, Owen is about to be inducted into the family business and fulfill his destiny to be a carpet salesman. But when his favorite Great Uncle Grover, the family iconoclast, dies suddenly, he leaves Owen with some puzzling last words. Now Owen must reconcile his mother's desire for a respectable funeral with his eccentric uncle's final wishes, and find the key to his own kingdom.