Tom Courtenay stars as Billy Fisher, an ambitious but ultimately lazy young man with a dreary life who spends most of his time daydreaming about a land where he is a hero. A number of minor indiscretions causes Billy to lie in order to avoid the penalties. As these events start catching up with him, his lies snowball with highly comedic results to cover his tracks.

Finally, when his life is a total mess, and nobody believes a word he says, an opportunity to run away from everyone presents itself. Billy has a difficult decision to make. Billy's lies land him in increasingly hot water as he find himself simultaneously engaged to free spirit Liz (Julie Christie), the Oranges obsessed and homely Barbara (Helen Fraser) and raunchy Rita (Gwendolyn Watts). Leonard Rossiter also stars as Billy's boss Shadrack.