Blacksmith Tim 'Tiger' Mason's fierce independence leads him to resist the forces around him: his relationship with his new wife Jean simmers as new boundaries are established, while he and his childhood friends struggle to comprehend the changing fabric of Newcastle. Yet Tiger also allies himself with those he feels sympathy for, taking on a slum landlord and joining a young Asian immigrant to confront racism. He grows closer to his dying father before learning for himself the unimagined joy of fatherhood.