Two lads in Edinburgh embark on a non-violent spree of robberies. They dress up in clown masks and act as modern highwaymen, robbing coach loads of tourists in the highlands. In the process they become folk heroes to the locals. Their adventures make for a whimsical and gentle comedy, in the Bill Forsyth vein.

Three armed robbers--Harry Rawlins, Terry Miller, and Joe Pirelli--die when the security van that they are robbing catches fire in the Kingsway Tunnel in London. Their widows--Dolly Rawlins, Shirley Miller, and Linda Pirelli--find their husbands' plans for the robbery and decide to stage it themselves.