In New Jersey, mass transportation engineer Arlo Pear loses his job. When he interviews for a position with the engineering firm, G.T.I. Transits, personnel officer Gary Marcus offers him the opportunity to become the head of Research and Development for a new monorail project in Boise, Idaho. Arlo announces the good news to his wife Monica, teenage daughter Casey, and twin sons Marshall and Randy, but none of them want to move to Boise. However, Arlo convinces Monica that if they move, they will no longer live next-door to their terrifying neighbor, Frank Crawford, and his extreme lawnmower tractor. Arlo and Monica put their house on the market, but Casey tries to sabotage the sale because she does not want to leave her new boyfriend, Kevin. After the house is sold, Arlo and Monica travel to Boise to find a house. Arriving at the home of the Cadills, Arlo and Monica think the place is perfect, but as they comment on the various features, Mr. Cadill informs them he will be taking the windows, doors, and swimming pool with him. Assuming Cadill is joking, Arlo and Monica purchase the property and return to New Jersey. In search of a moving company, Arlo interviews Edwards and Perry, but they appear to be such suspicious characters that he hires another moving company instead. Arlo also hires a man named Brad Williams to drive his prized Saab sports car to Boise. Later, Arlo receives a telephone call from neighborhood friends, Arnold and Crystal Butterworth, that Casey is getting married to avoid moving. Thinking she is marrying Kevin, Arlo and Monica are shocked to find Casey at the chapel with Rudy, a man she met at the mall. To stop the marriage, they agree to let Casey live with the Butterworths until she finishes her senior year of high school. On moving day, Arlo is surprised when the truck arrives with Edwards and Perry, newly hired by the moving company. As Edwards and Perry and their large associate, Gorgo, pack the truck, Brad Williams leaves with Arlo’s car. Saying goodbye to Casey and the Butterworths, the Pears and their dog, Flipper, leave for Boise. At a roadside restaurant, the twins show Arlo a psychology magazine with an article on the multiple personality disorder, featuring Brad Williams, who has eight separate personalities, on the cover. Arriving at the new house, Arlo finds the house stripped bare. After threatening Mr. Cadill to return everything, Arlo receives a telephone call from Edwards, stating the he and the movers took a detour to New Orleans, Louisiana, for Mari Gras. In the morning, the roar of a lawnmower tractor awakens Arlo. Looking outside, he realizes his new neighbor is Frank Crawford’s twin brother, Cornell Crawford. When Brad Williams arrives with Arlo’s car, it has been stripped and retrofitted for combat. On Arlo’s first day at work, Gary Marcus greets him with the news that the monorail project has been cancelled because of high costs. Arlo insists that he can make the project work, but Marcus disagrees and lets him go. Frustrated by misfortunes, Arlo buys firearms, locates the moving van, and commandeers it from Edwards, Perry and Gorgo. He drives the truck to Boise and orders the movers to unload the family’s belongings. Arlo is surprised to see that Casey, having missed her family, has joined them. Gary Marcus arrives at the house and rehires Arlo to rejuvenate the monorail project. Hearing the roar of Cornell Crawford’s lawnmower tractor, Arlo demands he use a regular lawn mower, and when Cornell refuses, Flipper growls menacingly until he agrees to Arlo’s request. With his family intact again, Arlo is content in his new home.