Raining Stones

England is plunged into a deep recession with crushing unemployment. Families struggle to pay the bills as factories shut down and jobs disappear. The constant financial pressure sets the stage for desperate schemes.

Bob and Tommy hatch a series of risky schemes to earn money in hard times. They chase quick profits rather than stable employment, hoping to turn luck around.

One plan involves stealing sheep to sell to local butchers. The theft is framed as a quick fix to mounting debts, reflecting their desperation.

Another scheme targets turf taken from government buildings to resell. The plans show how far they will go to grab small, illicit gains.

They also attempt to clean out bathroom pipes to extract salvageable materials and resell them. This unlikely venture demonstrates their willingness to try anything for cash. The ideas fail to generate real income and add to their mounting trouble.

Anne loses her job at a seamstress factory for not knowing how to sew. The sudden unemployment worsens the family's precarious finances and increases domestic tension.

Bob plans to buy a new outfit for Coleen's First Communion, a costly purchase that his limited income cannot cover. The event becomes a focal point for their mounting debt and anxiety.

He secretly secures a loan to pay for the outfit and the celebration. Unable to repay, the debt is sold to a ruthless loan shark who begins threatening the family.

The loan shark forces his way into Bob's house, steals Anne's jewelry, and issues threats that he will harm Coleen if payment is not made.

Bob returns home and confronts the loan shark at a parking garage outside a bar. The shark beats him and warns that worse is coming.

As the shark drives away, Bob smashes his windscreen with a wrench, sending the car into a column and killing the shark. Bob grabs the notebook of delinquent accounts from the shark's pocket and flees.

Bob runs to a nearby church and confesses what happened to the priest, vowing to turn himself in. The priest tells him not to surrender, noting that many neighbors feel relief and urging prayer for the loan shark's soul. He then burns the ledger, removing the incriminating record.

The next day, Bob attends Coleen's First Communion, but he appears withdrawn and haunted by guilt. His inner turmoil is evident as the ceremony proceeds around him.