After the death of her husband, a mother takes her kids off to live with their grandparents in a huge, decrepit old mansion. However, the kids are kept hidden in a room just below the attic, visited only by the grandmother, and their mother, who becomes less and less concerned about them and their failing health, and more concerned about herself and the inheritance she plans to win back from her dying father, to the point of murder...

An armored car is robbed by three men. A passing police officer and one of the robbers exchange fire. The robber is Paulie. In a flashback we follow him and his closest friend, Brian, as they grow up together in South Boston. They're tough guys, thugs, doing jobs for the local boss and chaffing to do more. Paulie's the leader. Brian drinks too much and free bases, ignoring his wife and two young boys. Life-changing events lead him to try to go straight, look for work, take what comes his way, and go to A.A. meetings. He struggles. Paulie shows him the plans for the armored car job. Will they do it? "I am who I am," Brian tells his wife. Is crime his only skill?

In London, A.K. is a Ukrainian Gypsy, seeking fame as a rocker, doing odd jobs: he's a dom, drives a hack, and runs errands for his neighbor, a poet full of self pity since going blind. A.K's flatmates are Holly, a ballerina who becomes a reluctant stripper in need of coaching, and Juliette, a pill-popping assistant at a pharmacy run by an Indian tired of his marriage. Juliette, estranged from her family, dreams of helping the poor children of Africa; A.K. has a crush on Holly; Juliette's boss lusts after her. Her hapless sister calls from time to time. The poet despairs. Is there a route from filth to wisdom for these souls? Can they find fun and fulfillment? A.K. provides philosophical comment.