Prostitute

In Birmingham, Sandra dreams of a better life beyond taking street pickups. She starts imagining higher-paying work and wonders if London offers the opportunities she needs.

Rose is arrested by the vice squad as she walks home, not actively seeking clients. She is pressured into pleading guilty and is sentenced to three months in prison.

Louise, a social worker who shares a flat with Sandra, grows angry at police harassment of working-class prostitutes and the lack of legal rights. She recruits Rose's mother to help persuade other local prostitutes to form a discussion group aimed at changing the laws.

While researching, Louise meets Griff, a lecturer on penal reform who takes an interest in the cause. He shows limited understanding of sex workers' lives, which becomes a point of friction in their dynamic.

At a recruitment event for regional prostitutes, Sandra meets Andrea, a London-based worker who pushes her toward employment with Mrs. T. Sandra decides to decamp to London to pursue this path.

Sandra travels to London while arranging for her teenage son to stay with trusted friends. Louise and Winston commit to looking after him so Sandra can begin her new work.

Sandra begins working as a dubious massage provider for abrasive local boss Mrs. T, navigating a predatory and high-pressure environment. Andrea’s warnings prove accurate as the job offers little protection or support.

The work becomes increasingly hostile, and Sandra grows fed up with the treatment she receives. She quits Mrs. T's employ, and Andrea cuts ties with her as well.

A corrupt vice squad invades Sandra's apartment without a warrant, plants drugs, and then extorts money and free sexual services to avoid arrest. The intrusion underscores the dangers facing sex workers in the city.

After serving three months, Rose is released and happily rejoins her mother and their extended network of sex workers. The community continues to organize and support one another.

Louise's activism attracts attention from the BBC to make a documentary about her cause, but she carefully questions the researchers to protect the women who trust her. She negotiates to avoid sensationalism and exploitation.

Quietly, Sandra returns to Birmingham and, though she misses seeing her son, goes to a park to help other children on swings. The act shows her enduring parental empathy and care.