Set in a small fishing town in rural Ireland, Flick, a nineteen year old school dropout, spends his days drinking in the local pub, amongst older degenerates of the town; Shooter and Ham being the head-hunters. Flick lives in a broken home. His mother is living God-knows-where and his father, Joe Doyle, is a man plagued by violence and alcohol. Everyone expects Flick to turn out the same way. Mick Dunne, a local mechanic, see’s potential in Flick and offers him the odd bit of work, when he can. From fear of ridicule, this position becomes a challenge for Flick as Mick’s sexual orientation is a topic of debate amongst the local community. When Flick meets Sue, a forty-two year old widow with two children, his world is turned upside down. Their acquaintance becomes sexual and for the first time in Flick’s life, things are looking up. Perhaps she sees something in Flick that others don’t. It doesn’t take long for Flick’s destructive drinking behaviour to send things spiralling downwards, leading him to believe that he may never make something of his life or leave this dead-end town.