When Chinese-Australian teenager Lawrence fails his high-school exams because of cheating, destroying his dreams of a medical degree, he's banished to the country for the summer. There, he meets a conman the Professor and his cynical daughter Sarah, and learns that even the sneakiest scam can't conjure up love.

The Moochmore girls are certain they all suffer from some kind of undiagnosed mental illness - because if they're not crazy then they're just unpopular. Their mother Shirley - unable to cope with her demanding daughters and unsupported by her philandering politician husband, Barry - suffers a nervous breakdown. After Barry commits his wife to a mental hospital (telling his constituents that "she's on holiday") he finds himself alone with 5 teenage girls he barely knows. Desperate, he impulsively picks up a hitchhiker named Shaz and installs her in his home as nanny to his daughters.