Liam, who only wanted a peaceful life with his mother, agrees to work with them after the local godfather tells him to 'stay away from our shops'. Liam's efforts attract the attention of the local drug 'godfather', Tony Douglas. They soon develop 'entrepreneur skills' and raise several thousand pounds, which they pay as a deposit towards the caravan in Liam's mother's name. To purchase it he and Pinball steal a delivery of drugs from Stan's house and sell them, doing the very things Liam once hated – claiming that they will never get anywhere by selling cheap cigarettes. Liam, who loves his mother very much, fantasizes that he, his sister, and his mother can escape to the seaside and live in the caravan, away from Stan and Rab's wrath. They drive up through the Cloch caravan (trailer) park where Liam sees a caravan for sale in a spot overlooking the scenic Firth of Clyde. When Liam takes Calum for a walk along Greenock Esplanade, his friend Pinball arrives in a stolen car and insists on taking them joyriding along the coast.
She has been taking free evening classes to get work in a call centre, and implores Liam to do the same because she wants Liam to do something more 'constructive' with his own life. Chantelle agrees to let Liam live in her house if he's good to Chantelle's little son, Calum. Liam then moves to his sister Chantelle's nearby home in Port Glasgow. Liam arrives back to find that he has been expelled from his grandfather's flat, and his belongings thrown down into the front garden (including his telescope, which has been broken).
When driving home his companions beat him up he fights back and gets away. In the event, Liam refuses to cooperate by passing the drugs over. Stan and Rab take Liam in Rab's car on a visit to his mother in Cornton Vale Prison, and try to force him to smuggle drugs to his mother while they create a distraction. She has a boyfriend named Stan, who works as a drug dealer with Liam's grandfather, Rab. She will be released in a few weeks, in time for her son's 16th birthday. Liam's mother is currently in prison, for a crime she did not commit. They get money by illicitly selling untaxed cigarettes in a pub, and defy the police. He and his friends exemplify the violent " ned" subculture they no longer attend school, but instead, hang around isolated areas or wander about all day long. The film opens with him using his tripod-mounted telescope outdoors on a clear night to show other children the stars and planets. Only this time, he just can't let go.In a few weeks, Scottish teenager Liam will turn 16. Finding himself dangerously out of his depth, Liam knows he should walk away. It's not long before Liam and his pals' crazy schemes lead them into all sorts of trouble. But first he's got to raise the cash-no small feat for a young man. Liam is determined to rescue his mother from both of them, which means creating a safe haven beyond their reach. Her boyfriend, Stan, is a crude and obnoxious drug pusher is partnered by Liam's equally rough and foul-mouthed, mean-spirited grandfather. He is waiting for the release of his mother, Jean, from prison where she is completing a prison term for a crime that her boyfriend actually committed. Liam is a young, restless teen struggling to realize his dream in the gritty and dismal streets of Greenock, where unemployment is rampant and little hope is available to the city's youth. Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.