In the wake of his father's untimely death, 10-year-old Paul (Harry Eden) must become the man of the house, caring for his younger brother and sick mother Mel (Molly Parker). When bullies taunt Paul by calling his mother a junkie, the boy soon realizes that the medicine he has been preparing for her is really heroin. Keira Knightley appears as a crack-addicted waitress in this bleak family drama set in West London.