Meet the van Laar family, who live in a prestigious villa at number 10, Herenstraat. Pater familias is Louis van Laar, who inherited the villa and the family wine merchant business from his father. Dark clouds suddenly loom with the appearance of Gerard van Laar, a rich uncle from America. To the astonishment of the other family members, Louis makes Gerard a partner in the business, seeing this as the only way to avoid a bankruptcy.