In a brief opening pre-credits sequence that recalls the origin of the two men nicknamed the “Lads,” the film frames how events from a Second World War air raid brought Bob and Terry together. After the titles, the pair, now around thirty, are seen playing football with local kids, a moment followed by a dramatic rescue when [Bob] is saved from a high rooftop by a fire engine.
They soon visit the Fat Ox, a beloved local pub on the verge of demolition along with the surrounding, aging working-class housing where they once lived. [Bob] feels a strong sentimental pull at the idea of loss, while [Terry] looks at the city’s redevelopment with brighter eyes. He has just moved into a newly built high-rise council flat, celebrating a “modern kitchen,” a lovely view, and an inside lavatory that symbolize his forward-looking outlook. The contrast between memory and renewal threads through their day, highlighting how the two friends have drifted in different directions.
A new relationship reshapes the dynamic when [Chris], a Finnish woman who works at the local boutique, enters Terry’s life, and [Bob] becomes openly envious of the pairing. Thelma, who remains married to [Terry] in spirit if not in fact, sees this new romance as a potential threat to her own marriage and schemes to secure Terry’s commitment. She persuades the four of them to take a caravanning holiday in Northumberland; but while Thelma and [Chris] enjoy the trip, [Bob] and Terry do not, and early one morning they hitch up the caravan, leaving the women asleep inside, and start the journey home. At a stop in a small town, Thelma and [Chris] wake to find themselves out of the caravan; [Bob] drives off, and the pair are left stranded, only to be confronted by a churchgoing crowd.
The two friends then rescue the situation by picking up two young hitch-hikers, yet the moment of truth comes when they realize that Thelma and [Chris] are not in the caravan. They abandon the hitch-hikers and dash back to recover the missing women, racing to rejoin them on the roadside.
That caravan episode catalyzes a rift: [Terry] and [Chris] split up, and [Bob] and Thelma also part ways. [Bob] ends up staying temporarily at [Terry]’s place, but [Terry] becomes involved with Iris, a colleague of [Chris], and [Bob] walks in on their affair, prompting his own exit from the scene. The tension between the two men intensifies as they suspect the other of infidelity, culminating in a furious quarrel inside the back of their employer’s van while the van’s public address system remains on, broadcasting their argument to the neighborhood. The incident costs Terry his job as a demonstrator for a washing powder.
Seeking a weekend away, they drive to Whitley Bay, where [Bob] starts dating the landlady’s daughter, while [Terry] is himself led astray by the landlady. The bedroom encounter backfires in comic chaos, with the landlady interrupting in a way that leaves both men trousers-less in the garden. A rapid retreat ensues, and they hastily return to [Terry]’s flat, only to find Thelma and [Audrey]—Terry’s sister—present, while the missing trousers add a final layer of embarrassment to their misadventures.
Guided by [Audrey]’s practical advice, [Terry] plans to leave the country, signing on as a deckhand aboard a ship departing from Newcastle. The two friends spend their last night together aboard the vessel, drinking and lamenting the uncertain future. At the last moment, [Terry] decides not to go, while [Bob] ends up sleeping through his planned departure; he awakens in a lifeboat to find the ship has sailed. [Terry] explains that they’ll notice [Bob] on board by accident and will drop him off at the first port of call, Bahrain.
