The exploits of four friends, who are socially only marginally above what one of them calls "the freaks", are presented as they grow from their late teen years into adults and as they go on their quest, usually unsuccessfully, for such grown up things as beer and sex. Simon Cooper, Jay Cartwright and Neil Sutherland have been friends for some time. Insecure Simon's main quest in life is to get long time friend, Carli D'Amato, to be his girlfriend. Jay is the big talker whose stories, especially about his sexual conquests, are more fantasy than reality. And slightly dim-witted Neil is generally two steps behind everyone else in comprehension of life, and who is always defending his father from beliefs that he's a closet homosexual. Into the group comes its fourth member, Will McKenzie, who met them when he transferred into their school, Rudge Park Comprehensive, at the start of sixth form...

Hazel Flagg of Warsaw, Vermont receives the news that her terminal case of radium poisoning from a workplace incident was a complete misdiagnosis with mixed emotions. She is happy not to be dying, but she, who has never traveled the world, was going to use the money paid to her by her factory to go to New York in style. She believes her dreams can still be realized when Wally Cook arrives in town. He is a New York reporter with the Morning Star newspaper. He believes that Hazel's valiant struggle concerning her impending death is just the type of story he needs to resurrect his name within reporting circles after a recent story he wrote led to scandal and a major demotion at the newspaper. He proposes to take Hazel to New York both to report on her story but also to provide her with a grand farewell to life. She accepts. Wally's story results in Hazel becoming the toast of New York...

Angie gets the sack from a recruitment agency for bad behaviour in public. Seizing the chance, she teams up with her flatmate, Rose, to run a similar business from their kitchen. With immigrants desperate to work the opportunities are considerable, particularly for two girls so in tune with these times.

Ethan Mascarenhas, formerly the world's greatest magician, has been quadriplegic since a performance went wrong 14 years before. For the past 12 years Ethan's health has been relatively stable, largely due to the relentless dedication of his nurse, Mrs Sofia D'Souza. He lives and works at his home, spreading new magic to millions of people with his irrepressible wit and spirit through books he has written and his radio show. But now his internal organs are failing. To avoid permanent hospitalization and machine life-support, Ethan petitions a court to be legally allowed to die. Ethan's request - his 'guzaarish' - shocks everyone in his world, but especially threatens his relationship with Sofia, who is the core of his existence. Will Ethan's petition succeed? How will Sofia respond?