A faithful family has gathered around "Mundl": his wife Toni, who says little but always has the last word; his son Karli, who marries Irmi, a woman from "higher circles", and his parents-in-law, the Werners, who have some difficulty in getting accustomed to the coarse tones of the Sackbauer family. Then Mundl's daughter Hanni brings home a bespectacled intellectual, of all people, and altogether, everyday life in Vienna can be rather exciting.

It's 30 years later and the Sackbauers have estranged themselves from everyone; only mother "Toni" tries to re-establish the old happy family.

The Sackbauer family unexpectedly inherits a villa with a large garden in a cottage district in Lower Austria. The villa itself is in acceptable condition, but the garden is less so. Mundl quickly sets about sprucing it up with garden gnomes, lanterns, and lots of love.