When his father walks out on his mother and himself, bespectacled, nerdy Will McKenzie is forced to leave his private school and enrol at the local comprehensive, where his accent and appearance make him an easy target for the school psycho. Seeking to make friends with 'normal' boys he pals up with Jay, Neil and Simon, but none of them are exactly winners, as is evidenced when they try to buy alcohol in a pub

The four bunk off School and get drunk. Simon tells Carli D'amato he loves her by writing it on her drive way in big letters. It ends badly when Simon and Will's parents find out what they've been doing all day.

Following a disappointing Valentines Day a mix-up in the work experience programme means that Neil gets to work in a newspaper office whilst Will is stuck in a garage, where he gets stripped and thrown in a pond as an initiation ceremony. Unwisely he inadvertently invites a work colleague to the school disco, where Simon gets a pleasant surprise from a female admirer.A run-in with a younger boy, however, means that ultimately the boys end up facing their customary public humiliation.

Exams are looming, and Will is getting stressed. Simon at last seems to be making some headway with Carli - he's helping her revise (albeit at the expense of his own revision).

Will, Neil, Simon and Jay, four socially troubled eighteen-year-olds from the south of England go on holiday to Crete.

Jay, Neil, Simon, and Will reunite in Australia for a holiday.