In Depression-era Winnipeg, a legless beer baroness hosts a contest for the saddest music in the world, offering a grand prize of $25,000. Contestants flock in from around the globe. Representing America is Chester Kent, a theatre producer who thinks he's an American despite being Canadian; representing Serbia is his brother, Gavrilo the Great, who is succumbing to madness over the death of his son; and representing Canada is their father, a pathetic drunkard. As the competition builds toward its climax, these estranged characters are brought together to express their deep feelings of pain and ultimately give in to treachery.