Barney Darling is a changed man. Once a drinker and hot-headed brawler, marriage to Pauline and the arrival of his three boys (especially his youngest, Robbie) have tempered him and he is now a proud and caring family man. At home and at the factory where he is shop steward, though, events are conspiring against him. With his wife's health at risk and the machinations of the factory management threatening to prevent working conditions from improving, Barney has to dig deep to stop the old urges from resurfacing. With his workmates looking to him to lead them and his loving and supportive wife behind him, he looks to be moving up in the world. But unions are made up of men and men are flawed. Idealism is a noble philosophy, but how will it match up to Barney's real life?