After a sexual encounter with a married woman in an alley in Manchester turns into a rape, Johnny (David Thewlis) steals a car and flees for Dalston, "a scrawny, unpretentious area" in the east of London, to seek refuge with his former girlfriend, fellow Mancunian Louise (Lesley Sharp).

David Thewlis......................Johnny
Lesley Sharp.......................Louise Clancy
Katrin Cartlidge...................Sophie
Greg Cruttwell.....................Jeremy G. Smart
Claire Skinner.....................Sandra
Peter Wight........................Brian
Ewen Bremner....................Archie
Susan Vidler.......................Maggie
Deborah MacLaren..............Woman in Window
Gina McKee.......................Cafe Girl
Carolina Giammetta............Masseuse