Ted decides to give Casey, his bride-to-be, a surprise wedding gift - a reunion with her long-lost father, Leo. Ted doesn't realize, however, that his bride cannot tolerate her father. Ted doesn't really understand this attitude because Leo is nothing like his own father, George, a quiet bookstore owner. Leo, a small-time hoodlum and part-time magician, can't go back to Las Vegas because he kept the last payoff he collected. Soon enough, a hit man arrives at George's home to collect the money. Leo's this close to getting whacked until George intervenes. The mob's on hold for now, but that's the least of George's problems because, on his way to the ferry, Leo happens to notice the spare room above George's bookstore. . . .

For years, George has hosted the same old (boring) Thanksgiving dinner. This year, with the addition of Leo, the party is suddenly festive - for everyone but George. Leo starts by flirting with George's beloved niece, Martha and their subsequent fling nearly drives George over the edge. Meanwhile, the sibling rivalry that Ted has nurtured for years is in full activation when his brother, Chip, shows up in his new Lexus.

George hosts a tour of his home in period costume in hopes of becoming President of the Historic Conservancy, but his high hopes of finally winning the annual historic house tour end in a drunken haze after Leo and Ambrose spike the egg-nog.