When Emma Quaadvliegh clears away some old papers after her husband has passed away, she stumbles upon a long forgotten application for a small house on the allotment complex ‘Peace and Joy’. Eleven years on the waiting list have gone by unnoticed, and she can now have any house that becomes available. When Emma views a cosy, somewhat messy little house with ditto garden, it’s love at first sight. On a whim she decides: I could do with some distraction, I’ll take this one! She knows nothing about gardening, but that shouldn’t be a problem, because all the friendly neighbours immediately offer their help.

The chairman of the allotment association invites himself over for a cup of tea. To get acquainted he says, but especially to point out all the rules, such as those regarding the height of the hedge, controlling weeds and the mandatory maintenance shifts in the communal parts of the complex. The conversation does not exactly go well and Emma suspects that the chairman has not really categorized her as a ‘tidy gardener’.

It soon turns out not to be all ‘peace and joy’ among Emma’s fellow gardeners. Nevertheless, she is determined to make the best of it, and create her own little piece of paradise. But then again, that’s all Adam and Eve wanted as well…