Ten-year-old Max has to start his Christmas vacation with the unpleasant news that his father has been fired from his job at the municipal office, where he worked for the Parks Department. With his mother away from home more often than not for work and his father completely neglecting himself and the situation, Max decides he has to take action. Max meets a strange character whom he calls Mannetje. Together, they devise a plan to save his father's honor and the family.