Having moved away from his gypsy heritage to a Phi Beta Kappa key in college and a high-salaried job in advertising, Robert Latore now wants to make a complete break -- marriage to the boss' daughter and a vice presidency in the firm. But the others in his family are reluctant to let him go, particularly his mother, Yana (who believes that Robert's late father has returned in the form of a duck); his would-be bride, Tonya Panpanya (who was promised to him when he was eleven); and Queen Mother Lenya (who announces on her deathbed that Robert is the new gypsy king). Inevitably Robert's two worlds collide as his bizarre relatives scheme to retrieve him from the enticements of his establishment colleagues, but somehow the antic turns and twists of the plot bring all the loose ends together in time for a happy, and wonderfully wacky, ending.