1995, and at a party in Bedford, Mary meets Jack and Neal, a pair of hipsters and self-confessed 'Beats' stuck (un)squarely in the sixties. After a 'Beat (not-quite) Happening' at the local library, the three of them (and Neal's cat Koko) set off in Mary's Vauxhall on a road trip to Brighton in search of literary fame and fortune. But, this is neither the time nor the place for free love, uncomplicated sex and unrestrained cool - this is 1990s Britain and everything comes with a price ...