Stevie, fresh from prison in Scotland, finds a job on a London construction site. The working conditions are poor and most of the men are working under aliases, due to immigration status and to not conflict with their "signing on" for unemployment benefits. Some coworkers help Stevie secure housing, squatting in a council estate. Then Stevie meets Susan, from Ireland, who's struggling to be a professional singer.

An ex-SAS officer and an ex member of the Special Boat Services, team up to search for £ 2 million worth of diamonds which go missing when an aircraft is hijacked. Ruthless terrorists seize a London embassy residence. The SAS are called in. There's intense political pressure for a quick resolution. The worst fears of David Barber, the officer in command, are tragically realised. With a brilliant career in ruins, the prospects for ex-Major Barber seem grim until he meets Colonel Patrick Ansell, Managing director of Saracen systems Ltd.