It is set in Salford, Lancashire (now in Greater Manchester), in 1971, in a mixed-ethnicity British household headed by Pakistani father George (Om Puri) and an English mother, Ella (Linda Bassett).

He and his second wife Ella, a British Roman Catholic woman of Irish descent, have been married for twenty-five years and have seven children; Nazir, Abdul, Tariq, Maneer, Saleem, Meenah (the only daughter) and Sajid.

After George disowns Nazir for running out on his arranged marriage, he immediately begins making plans to have another two of his children married to maintain his image.

On a trip to Bradford, George is introduced to Mr. Shah, a fellow Pakistani Muslim who wishes to marry off his two unattractive daughters.

George arranges in secret for his second and third sons, Abdul and Tariq, to marry them, despite Ella's misgivings, a conversation that the youngest child, Sajid, overhears.

During a quarrel, Sajid reveals the arranged marriages to his brothers; Tariq, the most rebellious son who is in a relationship with Stella Moorhouse (whose grandfather is a supporter of Enoch Powell and repatriation), flies into a rage and defiles the wedding garments George had bought.

Tariq travels to Eccles and tracks down Nazir, now a hat designer and in a homosexual relationship, who returns to confront George for his actions.

Enraged, George attacks Ella but is stopped by Abdul and the other children long enough for him to see how his actions have turned his entire family against him, and leaves the household in shame to seek solace in his shop.