Gerry is a young New Zealander whose thoughts of freedom from his small town life take a turn for the better when he steals a yellow Mini. John is a rather older New Zealander whose life is smashed when his girlfriend leaves him and moves to the other end of the country. Gerry has the car, John has the reason, so off they go in a haze of speed, oil fumes and illicit substances on a breakneck ride that will bring them into contact with all sorts of eccentrics (including the bubbly Shirl and her dubious virginity) all the while trying to evade the ever more frantic police. Financing the trip by selling bits of the car along the way, the trio, united in their common cause of getting John back to his girlfriend and avoiding prison if possible, rattle on through the countryside in an hilariously funny and very touching sort of anarchic road movie.