A veteran of World War II, Edwin Boyd (Scott Speedman) is disillusioned and barely getting by as a Toronto bus driver. With his wife Doreen (Kelly Reilly), whom he met in England during the war, and two young children to support, he finds it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Adding to his dissatisfaction, Boyd has deep, unfulfilled dreams of making it as a star in Hollywood, a desire frowned upon by his retired policeman father (Brian Cox (actor)).<ref name=true />