Our Friends in the North

In 1964, twenty-year-old Nicky Hutchinson returns to Newcastle after volunteering for the summer with the U.S. civil rights movement. He reconnects with Geordie and Tosker, who are eager to start a band. Nicky, however, is preoccupied with his volunteering and ignores their plans.

Mary becomes pregnant after Tosker's manipulation. Nicky accepts a job offer from Austin Donohue's new PR firm, dropping out of university. His working-class father Felix is dismayed by his decision.

Geordie fights with his abusive father and runs away from home. He relocates to London and becomes Benny Barratt's assistant in the Soho sex industry, starting a new life away from Newcastle.

Mary and Tosker adjust to married life in a damp high-rise flat. Nicky's firm represents John Edwards, owner of the substandard flats, and uncovers bribery records. Disturbed by the corruption, Nicky resigns in protest from the firm.

Austin Donohue is sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in the bribery scheme. John Edwards is declared bankrupt as the scheme collapses. The downfall signals a turning point for Nicky and his colleagues.

Tosker's dream of becoming a professional musician is crushed after a brutal audition. He takes menial jobs and, with Benny's help, starts his own grocery business. Meanwhile Geordie begins an affair with Benny's girlfriend Julia.

Nicky becomes a photojournalist in London and his ideology hardens as he joins an anarchist cell. While lying low in Newcastle, his mother Florrie finds a submachine gun in his room and confronts him. The cell's hideout is raided by the police, and everyone but Nicky is arrested.

Eddie Wells campaigns to become a Westminster MP with Felix serving as campaign agent. Nicky's past ties to extremism complicate support for him, and Eddie narrowly wins the by-election. The family tensions around Nicky's politics deepen.

Nicky makes a run as a Newcastle MP candidate but loses amid a smear campaign accusing him of IRA sympathy. In London, a dirty police squad's corruption becomes public when whistleblowers leak evidence to the Sunday papers. An independent inquiry is launched, led by Roy Johnson, but is repeatedly obstructed by Blamire, Chapple and Salway.

Benny's dirty squad continues to operate as the investigation stalls. Geordie is framed and imprisoned for his affair with Julia. Over time, successive investigations bring down Chapple, Salway and other corrupt Metropolitan officers.

During the 1984 miners' strike, Nicky covers events and rekindles his relationship with Mary. Tosker becomes a relatively successful slum landlord, but his marriage with Elaine suffers from infidelity and tension. The couple's personal and political lives continue to intertwine.

The Great Storm of 1987 hits as Eddie leaves Westminster and dies of a heart attack. Geordie has a chance to escape from prison during the storm but chooses not to. The turmoil underscores the toll of years of corruption and crime.

In the early 1990s, Nicky wrestles with his marriage to Mary and his father Felix's Alzheimer's disease. Mary remains active in politics, while Felix requires care in a home. Personal struggles mingle with the shifting political landscape.

In 1995, Nicky returns from Italy to attend Florrie's funeral in Newcastle. Tosker and Elaine are on the cusp of opening a floating nightclub, and Geordie reappears as a keyboardist for the opening night. The four friends reunite after 31 years, with varying hopes for the future.