Dolly Tomkins knows what it’s like to live hand to mouth. In the mean streets of 1920s Salford, the only one making a decent living is the talleyman — and Niffy Jack has a moneybag where his heart should be. When Jack offers to wipe the slate clean in return for Dolly’s favours, she can’t bring herself to do it, and instead takes him on at his own game — and in the process risks losing the love of her life.