The Off Hours

The sad lives of a group of people associated with the night shift of a roadside diner is presented. According to Levi, the diner's short order cook, Stu, the owner, is going to drive the business into the ground through his mismanagement. Being an alcoholic and unfaithful led to the dissolution of his marriage to Danielle. As the alcoholic part is supposedly in a "recovery" state, Danielle is giving Stu the opportunity to have a relationship with their fifteen year old daughter, Jenny. Many who see Stu on a night to night basis know that he is still drinking, which may threaten both the business and the relationship with Jenny. Jelena is one of Stu's two waitresses. A former mail order bride from Serbia, Jelena, who is now widowed, relieves her cultural isolation by frequent sex, sometimes with Stu. Stu's other waitress, who has worked at the diner for twelve years on and off, is Francine. She lives with her foster brother, unemployed Corey, who has the unrealistic expectation that his bar band will be his meal ticket. Francine, Corey and his two band mates generally hang out together in what has been the only life Francine has known. Francine has usually had Corey's friends as her casual sex partners, Ty being the latest in that long line of men. But she hopes that a true relationship will emerge with Oliver, a new regular to the diner. He is a former banker turned trucker, who turned to this life as a temporary measure until he truly finds what he wants to do in life. Francine's want with him is despite knowing that he is married with children.