Maria, Dermot, and their son Johnny live in West Belfast. Their conventional, straightforward family life is jolted when Johnny tells his Mum that he wants to wear a dress for his upcoming First Holy Communion.
In the follow-up to Graham Reid’s trilogy of ‘Billy’ plays, Billy's sister Lorna Martin is left to care for their Uncle Andy. Lorna feels trapped, but Andy wishes to give her the freedom she desires.
Belfast, 1980: July, the marching season ... Norman Martin, away for two years, returns with his 'English woman', Mavis. How will the family - particularly Billy - react? And has she achieved the impossible in mellowing the man?
Belfast 1978: the Martin family, a year on. Norman is away in England, and his eldest son, Billy, and daughter, Lorna, are in charge of their younger sisters, Ann and Maureen.
A BBC film crew is interviewing a ‘typical Catholic family’ in the Divis Flats area of Belfast, when news comes in that a child, known to the family, has been hit by a stray plastic bullet fired by a British soldier – a version of events contested by the army. Back in London, editing the footage, the producer and researcher on the project wrestle with how to present the incident, and with their responsibility to the people in the film.
