Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.

A boozy barmaid (Frances Barber) and her newly found gay friend (Con O’Neill) quit London and hightail it to northeast England on the lookout for sex and excitement in this multi-award-winning film based on Tennessee Williams’ short story Two on a Party. This sensitive and finally very moving film both celebrates and challenges the unusual relationship between the two characters.