It's 1974, and fifteen-year-olds Ben, Doug and Philip are best mates at a Birmingham grammar school King William's. Ben's older sister Lois isn't much luckier in love, resorting to arranging a date through the personal ads. Her date is a guitarist and self-professed 'Hairy Guy'.For the parents, life is more complicated. Ben's father Colin has no romantic problems but plenty of work worries - he's middle management at the strife-ridden Longbridge car factory, where Doug's father Bill is shop steward and an active Union man.

Meanwhile, clandestine love is in the air with Bill playing away from home with Miriam, a colleague, and Philip's mum Barbara being pursued by the charming Nigel Plumb, Philip's art teacher.... But will Barbara succumb to Plumb and risk her marriage to Sam?

For Lois, life has got better and better. She's fallen for Malcolm and he's equally smitten. But his proposal of marriage ends in tragedy when the couple are caught up in the IRA bomb in a pub in Birmingham city c