Summaries

Synopsis

The story charts the breakdown of a working-class family when the teenage daughter befriends a refugee girl.

Helen (Pauline McLynn) has been married to Paul for 25 years. They live a monotonous and frozen existence. Helen is desperate, damaged, and looking for change. Helen takes an art class to keep herself busy and works the late night shift at the supermarket Astor.Paul (Paul McGann) - bitter, hypocritical and bigoted, sick and tired of being in the poverty trap - is on the brink of a breakdown. His biggest fear is change. Helen doesn't want to have sex with Paul, but he forces himself on her on some nights.

Kelly (Tamzin Dunstone) is their teenage daughter who lives in their house, along with her infant daughter. Kelly is not a responsible mother and Helen has found Kelly sleeping in bed with her infant son Jordan, almost smothering her with a pillow. Kelly has no job and Helen has to support her. Helen had told Kelly to get an abortion, which she ignored and now Kelly is not at all attached to Jordan and leaves the care-giving to Helen.Darren (Tom Stuart) is Kelly's boyfriend who is not much help either.

Into their lives comes Tasha (Chloe Sirene), a Romany Czech refugee, awaiting her British passport and her chance for freedom - a concept taken for granted by all those around her.Helen knew Tasha and one day finds her, and her mother Irina (Rula Lenska) attacked in the streets. But Tasha doesn't want to call the police as her mother has 2 jobs, which is illegal. Helen brings them back to their home.

Helen gifts Tasha a mobile phone for her safety in case she is attacked again. Kelly refuses to make friends with Tasha.Helen beseeches Tasha to call the police, as she comes under repeated attacks.Paul decides to leave the house. Helen learns that Tasha and Irina having captured by Tasha's husband and father and are being forcibly taken back by a ferry. Helen rushes to the port to stop them but misses the ferry. She doesn't even get to say goodbye.

From Paul's viewpoint. He has no space in the crowded house and Helen is always yelling. Helen wants Paul to help out around the house with the baby. Paul works as a delivery man at a local carpet warehouse.Paul gets no respect from anyone at home. Paul is also irritated at Tasha and believes that refugees are the reason why native Britons cannot get good jobs anymore as refugees do it for far less.Kelly admonishes Paul when he voices his xenophobic views in front of Tasha at the dinner table.

Only time Paul enjoys his life is when he goes to the local pub after work, enjoys a few beers with a game of darts. He pays prostitutes for sex in his work van as he only gets rejection from Helen at home.Paul contemplates ending his life but does not have enough courage for that either. Paul again takes his frustration out on Tasha. Tasha retorts that she is a refugee and not an asylum seeker. Tasha says that 98% of the asylum seekers die on the way to crossing the English Channel.She says that immigrants are only given jobs that Britons don't want to do. She alleges that she has to work as a prostitute to pay her bills.

Paul runs into Tasha's Father (Olegar Fedoro) and her husband (Freddie Connor), who were looking for Tasha and her mother, and Paul points them in their direction. Later, Paul hears Tasha and her mother being physically assaulted and he walks away.Paul gets back to home in and is confronted by Helen about his behavior towards Tasha. Helen says that she knows what Paul did and decides to leave Paul.The next morning Paul tells Helen that he will leave instead. Then Helen gets the call from Tasha, and Paul ends up giving a lift to Helen (after slashing her car tire), to the port, where she helplessly watches as the ferry sails away.

From Tasha's viewpoint. She and her mother live in a trailer park, as that's all they can afford. Tasha goes to work and is teased with a slang "Gypo". Kelly saves Tasha from being harassed by a bully named Michael (Josef Altin).Tasha hangs out with Kelly and even invites her home, and this is when Helen meets Tasha for the first time. Tasha knows that Paul is hostile towards her.

Tasha's mother works as a house-cleaner. Tasha picks her up at night and both have their meal together. This is when they are attacked for the first time and they meet Helen on the street.Tasha explains to Helen that Czech republic is now part of the EU and hence they can come in easily, but living in UK is the hard part without a proper work permit. Tasha's mother explains that Tasha's husband used to hit her and so they both left home to come to the UK as refugees.

Tasha spends time with Helen, and they even go for Christmas celebrations in the city. Tasha is attracted to Helen and tells her so. Helen says that she is old enough to be her mother. They end up kissing each other and have sex in Tasha's trailer park home.Tasha and Irina get their British passports. When Tasha calls Helen, her husband and father reach the trailer park and drag them away. In the chaos, Tasha dropped their British passports back at the trailer.

At the ferry, Irina causes a distraction and Tasha runs away. She manages to jump off from the ferry. Helen sees Tasha at the port and finds her husband chasing behind her. Helen shouts at Tasha and asks her to jump into the water to escape. Eventually, Irina is brought back as well. Tasha and Irina are reunited with Helen.