Against the background of a declining steel town, Shifts charts the lives of four closely bound characters, Jack, Keith, Rob and Judith in a story of grief, love, work and betrayal. When the plant closes all four are forced to take control of their lives. The men look to their work and to the past for explanation, while Judith seeks an answer in herself and those around her. The result is an ever more intense entanglement of their lives as they search for a new way to live.