Brian Jackson, a working-class student from Essex navigating his first year at Bristol University, has a lot to prove. While his hometown mates worry about him turning into a poncey wanker, Brian's biggest concern is making the team for the long-running British television quiz show University Challenge. Amidst Tarts & Vicars dances, anti-Apartheid rallies, minging dorm rooms and puffs of marijuana smoke, Brian also finds himself romantically torn between two very different co-eds: the ultra-fit, University Challenge teammate, blonde bomshell Alice, and thoughtful, politically-conscious Rebecca Epstein.