Four-part TV drama, from writer Roddy Doyle, which focuses on the tenuous relationships of a working-class Irish family. Each episode explores the life of one of the family members: devious alcoholic Charlo (Sean McGinley), an abusive husband and petty thief; downtrodden housewife Paula (Ger Ryan), who longs to escape from the misery of her circumstances; Nicola (Neilí Conroy), their recently grown-up daughter who is beginning to wonder about her father's unsettling stares; and John Paul (Barry Ward), the teenage rebel who is gradually becoming more like his dad.