Nine year old Doreen and her family - which consists of her parents, her two older brothers and an infant sister - have just moved to a new neighborhood. Despite any such change being potentially traumatic, Doreen seems to make the adjustment quickly, making new friends in the area. But the move does not change an unhappy home life, where her parents are constantly fighting whenever her white collared drunkard father is home instead of at the bar. He squanders his money on his drinking rather than to provide the basics for his family. As they get settled into their new home, Doreen is affected by by her father’s actions and by a public incident she witnesses, which in combination overwhelm her emotionally.