In pre-famine Ireland when poverty and magic were rife, introverted farm girl Maura discovers a magical world of the imagination through the mysterious wanderer Scarf Michael. When her isolated rural community accuses her of witchcraft, she turns to her own supernatural powers for protection.

In a working-class quarter of Dublin, 'Bimbo' Reeves gets laid off from his job and, with his redundancy payout, buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy, Larry. Due to Ireland's surprising success at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their business starts off well, but the relationship between the two friends soon becomes strained as Bimbo behaves more like a typical boss.