市政府市民科科长渡边堪治（志村乔饰）是名近三十年全勤的模范公务员，然而他和同事们每天忙碌却人浮于事，不知道自己在忙些什么。一帮妇女联合到市政府申请填平社区附近的臭水池，在上面建造个小公园。市民科的接待人员告诉她们要把问题反映到公园科，公园课把她们推倒建设科……，申请书转了一圈后，又被踢回市民科。 　　一个月后，渡边因身体不适，去医院被查出胃癌，时日无多。渡边回到家，感到孤独无助，儿子（金子信雄饰）只想着用老人的退休金及储蓄，到外面另辟小家庭。绝望中的渡边没有去上班，借酒浇愁。之后，请辞的女科员小田（小田切美善饰）给了渡边以启示。他打起精神，亲自督促建设社区公园。几个月后……

Jack Barrett is the type of guy no one calls Jack. He works for a group of businessmen known as "The Gentlemen" who operate within the fertile realm of the Sydney Underworld. Standover tactics, prostitution, illegal gambling, creative importation - you name it, "The Gentlemen" are into it. And Barrett enforces it for them. Old school muscle for hire. Now 53 years old, he's tired of having to throw away perfectly good suits because you can't dry-clean the blood off. He needs to get out of Sydney. Out of the game. Which is, of course, easier said than done.

Jim Jansson is a woodcarver who gets retired.