Nick and his brother were the children of an alcoholic mother, and in the absence of anything approaching parenting, they formed a tightly-knit bond with each other and their baby brother. But when we meet them as adults they are estranged, each fighting addictions of their own. Nick is full of anger and self-loathing, isolated and living in a grim hostel. Days are spent working out his aggression at the gym, while beer and desultory sex blot out the evenings. His brother is a junkie and a single parent, trying to care for his own young son whilst managing his habit.