Tired of Mini's inconsistent attitude and unaware of her pregnancy, Alo quickly falls for vivacious Poppy, whom he meets at a fancy-dress party; they have consensual sex in her house and escape being caught by her argumentative parents. But Alo is shocked to find that Poppy is only 13 and soon he's arrested for assaulting a minor, suspended from college, and ostracized by his former friends. AT least it brings him closer to Mini and they have a heart-to-heart. She is about to tell him that she is pregnant when Poppy rings to say that she and her mother have persuaded her father to drop the charges against him.

Cook is now living with sometime-girlfriend Emma in Manchester and drug-running for gangster Louie along with Louie's henchmen Jason and Rob. He is extremely secretive about his past. Louie entrusts him with driving his girlfriend Charlie as she is house-hunting, though Cook is surprised when she asks to be dropped off at a council estate. At a party Cook intervenes when Jason tries to have rough sex with an unwilling Charlie and gets beaten up for his pains. Emma cleans him up but he advises Charlie to be wary of Louie and finally admits to her that he has killed a man. They end up having sex. At the house-warming party, Louie reveals that he knows that Charlie has been unfaithful and drowns Jason in the swimming pool. Cook tells Emma he thinks that they should leave Manchester, but as they are driving away he gets a call for help from Charlie and, against Emma's advice, heads back to her.

Cook, Charlie and Emma are on the run. They take refuge in Emma's parent's house in the middle of nowhere. Things start to get worse as Louie finds them.