In 2006 teenagers Sophie Lancaster and Rob Maltby are attracted to each other by their shared Goth appearance. However in a small Lancashire town their unusual looks and piercings invite hostility. A year later they are lured to a skateboard park and set upon by a gang of thugs, purely because they look different. Michael Gorman does not join in the attack and, feeling guilty for not intervening, rings for an ambulance, attracting the attention of dogged policewoman Steph Farley, anxious to arrest the culprits whilst he is under pressure from the other boys to say nothing. When Sophie dies of her injuries it becomes a murder case and Michael is forced to tell Steph the truth about what happened.