Esmeralda Quipp, once a great Shakespearian actress, now 80 years old, is at her wits’ end. Her pension can barely cover the cost of her medicines and pills, she is three months overdue with the rent, the central heating has been turned off, the electricity has been cut off and all this in the middle of a Canadian winter! And if this was not enough, her last beloved cat Merlin has just died and there is no money to cremate him like all the other cats before him.
Caught by her landlord trying to bury the cat in the front garden, she is taken to the police station where she discovers the benefits of the holding cell: three warm meals a day, central heating, nice people who bring you a nice cup of tea and the most interesting people locked up with her that you can imagine! Unfortunately, an overzealous social worker and a well-meaning lawyer successfully keep hauling her out of this wonderful environment which seems to be the ideal solution to all her problems.
What to do next? Why, rob a bank of course! But the system that has failed her also wants to forgive her because of her age and general health, and the public defender wants to use an insanity plea to get her off. Does Esmeralda find a way to keep herself locked up – or maybe, just maybe, is there something left for Esmeralda to do with her remaining days?

Cast

Crew