It's 1979 and in Birkenhead smack and Maggie Thatcher are still less of an issue than Lois jeans and Adidas Forest Hills training shoes.

For Paul Carty, 19, and his mystical, Joy Division-loving mate Elvis, life revolves around The Pack, a mob of violent Tranmere Rovers supporters. Carty and Elvis travel the Northern wastelands, always by train, causing mayhem in the 'woollyback' strongholds of Halifax, Crewe and Chesterfield. For most of the mob, The Pack is their reason for living. But Elvis, who loves Ezra Pound, and Carty, still getting over the death of his mother, are starting to get bored of it all.

The question is: will the Pack let them go? And can they get by without each other?