Dek (Rhys Ifans) and Shirley (Shirley Henderson) live together with 12 year-old Marlene, her daughter by the sexy delinquent Jimmy (Robert Carlyle), who skedaddled years ago. When Jimmy witnesses Dek\u0027s humiliating marriage proposal to Shirley on national television, he returns to town convinced that he can win Shirley back. But he hasn\u0027t reckoned on the formidable resistance from their daughter Marlene, his sister Carol (Kathy Burke) and her husband Charlie (Ricky Tomlinson).