Mike, an itinerant hairdresser living in Tunbridge Wells, learns all the gossip of the town. He cuts the hair of holy hypocrite Nigel, who is seeking a new relationship, but disapproves of his new lover's daughters. And as Mike cuts deeper and deeper into this superficially respectable town, he soon learns it is a hotbed of vice, intrigue and gossip, and even his own family life, he realizes is not so very secure. By the end of a tempestuous year, many of his customers will become involved in revenge, rape, murder and suicide.