Dublin 1967. The Browne's just manage to live hand-to-mouth until the father dies and Agnes is left to educate and bring up her seven children single-handed. The problems don't take long to appear: to give her husband a decent burial, Agnes has no option but to borrow money from Billy, a crooked moneylender. His conditions are draconian: Agneshas to pay back a set amount each week plus interests, if not... Billy never makes exceptions, and it's not a widow with seven kids who's going to soften the hardness of his heart.