Rita is a brash, working-class hairdresser on a personal quest to educate herself for a better life. When she enrols in an Open University course she is paired with Frank, a burned-out, disillusioned professor who has become somewhat reliant on a bottle of scotch to get him through the day. Through a series of both hilarious and moving conversations, an unlikely friendship grows, with each one helping the other to rediscover their zest for life