A gritty crime thriller from the crown prince of 'Brit noir', centred around the 1984 miners' strike. The action takes place in a depressed mining town in the North East. Switching continuously between 1984 and the present day, the plot follows the intertwined lives of a small group of characters, all linked in various ways to the miners' strike: Tony Woodhouse, a professional footballer who can't escape his shady past; Tommy Jobson, cruising the streets of Newcastle, violently collecting debts, about to be sucked into something far more dangerous; Mick Hutton, a striking miner, increasingly desperate to find ways to support his wife and growing family; Stephen Larkin, an idealistic young journalist, determined to expose the truth about the strike - as he sees it; Stephen's sister, Louise, in love with Tony Woodhouse, stalked by a shadowy figure from her past. As the lives of these five characters unfold, it becomes clear the strike will have devastating repercussions - not only for those directly involved, but for future generations too.