The opening scene shows Frankie being beaten by a small group of men, and the rest of the film is shown as a flashback leading up to that point.

Frankie starts a relationship with Helen (Laura Fraser), a young woman who studies art and works in a record store.

When he is preparing to drink a glass of scotch, he begins to muse how the past has destroyed his life up to this point and he decides to stay sober and call Mary to apologise.

The film is Jobson's first directorial effort, following a career as a television presenter on BSkyB and VH-1, and as the vocalist for the 1970s punk rock band The Skids.

[5] The soundtrack features 1960s ska and skinhead reggae acts such as Desmond Dekker and Claudette and the Corporation, as well as 1970s rock bands such as Roxy Music, Velvet Underground, Iggy & The Stooges and The Skids.