This American Film Theatre production is based on the stage play by Brian Friel.

Gar, a young Irish man, prepares to leave his dull Gaelic community--and his seemingly insensitive father--to live with his aunt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The hero has an alter ego, seen only by himself and the audience: the public Gar holds back his true emotions, while the private Gar tells the brutal (and sometimes hilarious) truth.

As Gar packs his bags, he and his inner self examine his relationships with his boorish dad, his former sweetheart, his frustrated schoolmaster, his shallow buddies, and his loving housekeeper.