[1][2] The show centres on the Spencers, a working-class family living in a vast Dublin housing estate.

[4] The third episode focuses on Nicola, in her late teens, who works in a clothing factory and has a strained relationship with her father, particularly in relation to her burgeoning sexuality.

[4] The final episode focuses on Paula, the emotionally and physically battered mother, who attempts to reclaim her identity and her life without her husband.

[citation needed] The series was released on video for the first time ever on 27 June 2011 as a 2-disc DVD set in the UK & Ireland.

The release included a thirty-minute contemporary interview with director Michael Winterbottom, writer Roddy Doyle and producer Andrew Eaton.