Adam is a young man who was put into foster care as an infant by his teenage mum. He is always getting in trouble because of his explosive bad temper. When he returns to his birthplace, Southend-on-Sea, where his mum is working as a hairdresser, lonely Adam finds himself falling for Makayla. She introduces him to the rap battle scene. It turns out Adam is a natural: all his rage and alienation are alchemized into brilliant rhymes. But when he gets caught up in his own hype, he must confront his past to accept who he really is.