Overweight and under-confident teenager Rae Earl is discharged from psychiatric hospital and is met by her mother, who is hiding her Tunisian boyfriend Karim from the immigration authorities. Rae goes to the pub where her friend Chloe introduces her to her circle, including the desirable 'half geek, half rock god' Archie, whom Rae would love as her boyfriend. She is, however, prone to panic attacks and tries to return to the ward but is persuaded by her friend Tix to brave the big wide world. After a reconciliatory chat with her mother she attends Chloe's pool party where she is self-conscious about the self-harming marks on her legs. However her unorthodox psychiatrist Dr Gill shows her how to turn things to her advantage and her sense of humour wins over her new crowd of friends.