Jimmy Rabbitte Senior is unemployed and struggling with the loss of routine and self-respect when his friend Bimbo is made redundant. Rather than surrendering to boredom, the two men use Bimbo's severance money to buy a battered fish-and-chip van. Their new business brings excitement, long hours, family involvement and a stream of comic disasters as they try to serve Dublin crowds during the 1990 World Cup. Success places unexpected pressure on their friendship, especially when decisions about money and responsibility create resentment. Roddy Doyle captures working-class family life through sharp dialogue, humour and affection. Beneath the comedy is a story about unemployment, pride, friendship and the difficulty of remaining equal partners when circumstances begin to change.