John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson) grows up in a small Scottish town in the early 1980s and develops pronounced tics at the age of twelve. What is only diagnosed years later as Tourette syndrome dominates his daily life. Neither at school nor at home are his uncontrolled movements and spontaneous outbursts recognized as medical symptoms; instead, they are met with ridicule or punishment. Around 15 years later, John (Robert Aramayo) still lives with his mother (Shirley Henderson) and struggles with the side effects of strong medication. A chance encounter with his former classmate Murray and Murray's mother, Dottie (Maxine Peake), changes his situation. A nurse, Dottie understands him, takes him into her family, and gets him a job as an assistant to the caretaker, Tommy (Peter Mullan), at the local community center. A close friendship develops between the two, through which John gradually gains more confidence and begins to forge his own path.
