A boy and his guitar, stuck in Cambridge, England in 1978, getting sex, drugs and rock and roll spectacularly wrong.

Cambridge, England, 1978: Tom Hopkins would love to play slide guitar in a band, but the New Wave is cresting, Disco is on its way in and slide is strictly for dinosaurs. 18 and insanely handsome, he could have anyone he wants, but projects his crippling fear of rejection onto women he doesn’t fancy, but who want to sleep with him. Terrified of drowning in guilt for refusing their advances and hurting their feelings, he has sex with them anyway.

After he joins The Grip, a New Wave outfit modelled after the B-52’s, Tom soon discovers they are all as screwed up about sex and love as he is: Colin (bass) is stuck in an open marriage that he wishes were closed; Tristram (vocals) can’t stop having anonymous hook-ups; his girlfriend Evelyn (keyboards) bullies him daily, and Ron Bains (drums) won’t let his wife out of his sight.

Enter Nisha Chavada, a militant squatter in an enclave of ancient houses resisting demolition and redevelopment. She terrorizes Tom into sleeping with her then starts managing The Grip. It looks like they could be headed for a record deal and the big time, but their tangled lives unravel at their very first London gig when a riot breaks out, destroying the venue and all the band’s hopes.

In the aftermath, Tom must decide whether to stay in Cambridge as the New Wave crashes and Disco takes over the world, or get out and go where his heart tells him he must.