Based on one of the most controversial plays of its time, a disaffected teenager finding her way amid the economic desperation of industrial Manchester, and despite an absent, self-absorbed mother. With its unapologetic identification with social outcasts and its sensitive, modern approach to matters of sexuality and race, a classic that is still a startling benchmark work of realism.

Sara's dreams of being a ballerina are shattered when her mother suddenly dies and she is sent to live with her father in Chicago's gritty South Side. Sara meets Derek and their shared love for dance leads to romance and opposition from both families.