WAYNE (Eddie Izzard) and DAHLIA MALLOY (Minnie Driver) are gypsy travellers from rural Louisiana who, along with their three children, go on the run after stealing money from the extended family bank. An unfortunate accident provides a great opportunity when they obtain the identity of a well-to-do “normal family,” becoming “H. Douglas and Cherien Rich.” Seduced by the idea of a bigger life for themselves, and armed with the keys to a new house in a posh neighborhood, they soon find that suburban life is more twisted and challenging than any of their previous stings.

For Wayne and Dahlia Malloy, the road is home. As a family of travellers, life is all about the money — other people’s money — and steering clear of the law. They’ve raised their three children CAEL (Noel Fisher), DI DI (Shannon Woodward) and SAM (Aidan Mitchell) in their old beat up RV, teaching them the tricks of the scamming trade, and to always take pride in conning greedy buffers (the traveller term for ordinary, law-abiding folk). But one blind curve in the road and a swerve of the RV later, and the Malloy family finds itself faced with the possibility of becoming buffers. “Doug” and “Cherien Rich” are now dead, driven off the road by the swerving Malloy RV. Dahlia feels guilt over the tragic accident.

Wayne senses a golden opportunity. Wayne and his family help themselves to Doug and Cherien’s life. But this con is like no other the Malloys have ever pulled. To survive in the buffer world, they must convince suspecting neighbors, classmates, co-workers, cleaning ladies and car-rental clerks that they really are THE RICHES, that their children are fit for the top private schools, that Wayne not only has a law degree but is the best lawyer around, and that Dahlia not only understands but also respects her Jewish heritage. But the most daunting task: the Malloys must convince themselves. Their identity is turned upside down, and they must find the balance between gaining all the perks of bufferdom (the hot cars, the hot boyfriend, the TV) while losing the freedom of the road they’ve enjoyed their whole lives. Can they really pull this off? And if they can, are they burying the Malloy name for now, or for good?

With their hands tightly around the American Dream, complete with a two-car garage and a garbage disposal, the Malloys begin to question who they really are, if they can ever go back home again, and what home even means. Somehow their cushy new mansion may not feel as much a home as that old beat up RV.