Birmingham 1974; Ben Trotter and his friends attend King William's School and are fans of Prog Rock. His father works at British Leyand but life changes forever when his sister Lois and boyfriend Malcolm are victims of an IRA bombing.

1975; Ben and his family struggle to deal with the death of his sister. While Cicily Boyd is unattainable Ben spends his time on the school magazine. Doug gets an interview with the NME and ends up with the weekend of a lifetime.

March 1976; Ben wins the affection of Cicely Boyd but it doesn't quite go as expected. Teacher Nigel Plumb finds himself in hot water due his relationship with a parent. The end of the school year Ben goes caravaning with his parents.