"I wish I could write ... about what Spain was like - a real cause. Not just Cornford, Hemingway and Orwell, but the ordinary blokes who went." A confused industrial dispute at a London hospital triggers off in trade unionist George Harley 's mind memories of his days fighting in the Spanish Civil War, when the issues seemed so much clearer.

Ardently left-wing, or so it seems, Howard Kirk (Antony Sher) subtly extends his power over students and colleagues alike at a redbrick university.

Jimmy is a talented young boxer. Every punch he throws is eagerly watched by his trainer, and resented by his girlfriend. His parents, however, aren't particularly interested – until a large car and what appears to be a handsome contract arrive at the door.

In a foreign port two boys come to a fisherman saying they are refugees from a country where a military take-over has organised a gigantic League of Youth.