It is 1977, Dublin rocks to the music of Thin Lizzy and the world is stunned by the death of Elvis Presley. Frankie, caught between acne and adulthood, has just completed his final exams in school. Convinced he will fail, he survives the summer organising a beach party, having lustful thoughts about two girls he believes are unobtainable and fending off the advances from a visiting American family friend, all whilst coping with his oddball family.

After failing school, 18 year old Irishman leaves his small town in Kerry to find work. In London, he finds a job at an oil refinery and befriends a crude Scottish worker, but soon starts thinking about going back to school. One day, the job sends him and his Scottish friend back to Kerry. There, tensions rise.