Joe Barring has worked at odd-jobs for over 20 years. He still lives with his parents, Donna and Russ; Russ has suffered a stroke and is now paralyzed in a wheelchair. Joe spends his days riding his motorcycle, drinking beer, and womanizing. One day he is arrested and brought to court, and the judge tells him something that causes his life to take an unexpected turn: that he is the father of at least one of three children--Emma, Mary, and Josiah--and that since their mother has died recently, he is now their legal guardian.

Joe does not want to take the kids, but his mother Donna decides she'll raise them herself, provided that her son gets a job. Joe doesn't want to have anything to do with the kids. He begs the social worker, Sunshine, to take the kids back, but she refuses.

After Sunshine observes a series of events that appear to put the children's lives at risk, they are removed from Joe's custody and placed in the home of Robert and Ann Ross, a religious couple who have been looking to adopt for some time.

Joe is initially happy that the kids are gone. But the kids aren't happy living at the Ross family. They want to be with their father. Joe soon realizes that he's become attached to them, so he decides to fight Sunshine, and the legal system, to get his kids back.