After a hard day's work collecting garbage, Roc Emerson looks forward to relaxing at home with his family. Instead he argues with his live-in father, Andrew, and finds his wife, Elanor, leaving for her job as a nurse at the local hospital. Worse, his younger brother, Joey, whom Roc hasn't seen for five years, arrives at the door penniless, homeless, and unemployed.

While Roc and Joey attend a baseball game, their father, visits Franke, an old friend who is dying at a local hospital, To ease his guilt, Frankie confesses that he once had sex with Andrew's wife and may have fathered one of Andrew's sons. Outraged and furious, Andrew demands to know which son, but Frankie dies before he can reveal the truth.

When Roc learns that Leon, a veteran garbage collector, is being forced to retire, Roc tries to comfort the old man. Thinking years of being alone and unappreciated have made Leon bitter, Roc decides to give Leon a retirement party to show how many friends he really has. Roc's father is hurt by the idea. He spent 35 years as a train porter, and no one ever have him a party.

When unemployed trumpet player Joey can't pay his gambling debts, he begs his older brother for a thousand-dollar loan. Roc refuses to come to the rescue, even though Joey promises to change. As a test, Roc gets Joey a legitimate job with the sanitation department, and promises to pay the debt if Joey can keep the job for two weeks.

Jealous when one of Eleanor's patients gives her flowers and a diamond necklace, Roc agrees to let him propose to test Eleanor's love. She is furious that he could think she would leave him for a wealthy man. They reaffirm their love, and Roc promises to get Eleanor nice things ""someday.""

Andrew's reunion with his younger brother Russell throws the Emerson household into chaos when Russell announces that he plans to marry his gay Caucasian lover. Andrew, Roc, and Joey are overwhelmed by the sudden change in the man they thought they knew; Eleanor complicates things further by offering to hold Russell's wedding at the Emerson house.

Roc is promoted to Crew Supervisor, a big step on his way toward an executive position. While Eleanor, looks forward to the extra money every week, Roc's brother and father look forward to spending it on risky investments.

When nurse Eleanor invites co-worker Nadine Randall home for dinner, an immediate love-hate relationship develops between Nadine and Eleanor's unemployed brother-in-law, Joey. After only a few minutes of conversation, they agree that they hate each other's personalities, but can't resist the overpowering sexual attraction.

While Roc looks forward to a reunion with several of his old army buddies, Andrew aims to enjoy a Sixties party at the community center. As Andrew unpacks his clothes from the 1960's and reminisces about the civil rights movement, Roc recalls the good old days with his friends in the army.

Arguing the Emersons need a larger home, Joey suggests that they attend a bank auction that is selling homes with defaulted mortgages at bargain prices.

After nurse Eleanor helps to deliver twin babies at the hospital, she once again wants to discuss the subject of children with her husband, Roc. Roc has insisted for years that they don't have the time or money to raise a child. Roc's father , Andrew, and brother, Joey, favor the idea of children. After four months of trying, Roc and Eleanor are afraid there may be a medical reason why they can't conceive a child. When Dr. Worthy reports that Eleanor has passed all the appropriate tests, the family looks silently to Roc. (Part 1 of 2)

After suffering the embarrassment of submitting a sperm sample to Dr. Martin, Roc learns that while his sperm count is healthy, they aren't ""swimming properly."" Dr. Martin recommends medication and weekly tests to rejuvenate the sperm. Roc is angry at himself, feeling he is a disappointment to Eleanor. (Part 2 of 2)

Roc and Joey are shocked when their elderly father, Andrew, meets a beautiful young woman named Celia Miller at the neighborhood tavern. Not only does Andrew have sex with Celia at a nearby motel, he escorts her home and announces their engagement to her parents.

Roc and Eleanor prepare to go to Washington D.C. for the weddig of Eleanor's cousin. Before the wedding, Eleanor's mother, Margaret Carter, arrives ar the Emerson'ts unexpectedly. Margaret is a social climber who criticizes Roc about his profession, and about his unambitious father, retired railroad porter Andrew, and and his unemployed brother, Joey. Margaret also reveals that she has told the rest of the Carter family that Roc is a doctor. She insists that Roc pretend to be a doctor while he's at the wedding.

Reverend Hill suggests that Joey Emerson, an unemployed musician, give trumpet lessons to some of the congregation's children. Roc immediately commits his lazy live-in brother to the job, hoping finally to see some money for rent. During the ""lessons,"" Joey makes telephone calls, bets on horse races and gives his students no musical guidance at all. Roc and Eleanor, endure the horrible trumpet noises coming from the living room and hope that the children will improve in time. Then Roc promises Reverend Hill that Joey and his students will play in the churh's next musical recital.

Roc 's boss Stan had a brief sexual encounter with a woman at a sanitation convention. Now Stan's wife Connie has thrown him out of the house. Roc gives Stan some honest advice and invites him home for dinner. But over the next few weeks, Stan asks Roc for too much emotional support and imposes on the Emersons for a place to sleep.

Roc hopes his union's decision to strike against the city will only last a few days. When the strike enters week three and Roc has spent his small allotment from the union's emergency fund, he takes a job as a hospital orderly, working under the supervision of his wife, Eleanor.

When Joey, Andrew and Roc offer a meal to a pregnant homeless woman, Linda, who suddenly goes into labor in the middle of their kitchen. Linda's husband, Donald, confides in Roc, worrying that as a homeless man he can't care for his family. But Donald's fears are groundless, the baby is stillborn. Donald comforts his wife and promises to find work and shelter. Roc is so moved my their courage that he vows to show more concern for people who are less fortunate.

Roc is proud to be chosen by his boss, Mr. Samuels, to supervise a new sanitation trainee. But when he discovers that the new garbageman is a beautiful woman, Angela Kimbro, Roc worries that he'll be too distracted by her looks to work. Angela quickly proves that she's as strong as any male sanitation worker. She also tells the horrified Roc that she's extremely attracted to him. Roc insists he loves his adoring wife, Eleanor. Still, Angela refuses to leave him alone.

When a gang of drug dealers move into a nearby house, Roc and Elenor try to organize their neighbors into a non-violent protest movement to scare them away. Roc suggests they picket and demonstrate loudly and continuously in front of the crack house, but the frightened neighbors fear retaliation from the gang.

After an evening of satisfying sex, retired railroad porter Andrew Emerson discovers that the woman lying next to him is dead. He interprets this shock as an omen from his long-departed wife, warning him to stay away from other woman. Roc and Eleanor try to cheer Andrew up by arranging a date for him with Helen, an attractive middle-aged nurse. As the four of them share a polite but awkward dinner, Andrew resists a friendship with Helen. He's afraid she'll be the next ""victim"" of this wife's revenge.

When Joey Emerson wins a huge bet on a horse race, his bookmaker, Mickey, can't pay cash. Instead, Mickey offers Joey his contract for the ownership of an amateur singing quintet known as The Fly Guys. Joey's brother, Roc, thinks Joey should demand the money, but Joey convinces Roc to be The Fly Guys' new manager. However, instead of hiring a professional choreographer as Joey suggests, Roc decides to save money and teach the guys dance steps form his own vocal group way back in the 1960's.

When temperamental trumpet player Kenny Davis quits his job with the famous Les McCann Band, fellow band member Billy Miller offers an audition to his friend Joey Emerson. Joey plays a superb audition and gets the job. During his first performance with the band, Kenny comes to listen and compliments Joey on his talent. Flattered, Joey loans Kenny his trumpet so he can play a song with the band. However, Kenny enjoys playing with his former group that he stays onstage the whole night.

When Eleanor wakes screaming from a nightmare, the rest of the family try to calm her by confessing the horrors of their own worst nightmares. Joey is afraid he'll lose his musical ambition and become a common garbageman like his brother, Roc. Andrew fears he'll become too senile to communicate and his sons will send him to a retirement home. And Roc is afraid he'll die before he can give Eleanor the beautiful home and family he wants. Alone with Roc, Eleanor tells the truth: she dreamed about the adult neighbor who cared for her when her parents were away. All these years, she has suppressed the memory of being molested as a child.