A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor.

In the early 1800’s, a group of fur trappers and Indian traders are returning with their goods to civilization and are making a desperate attempt to beat the oncoming winter. When guide Zachary Bass is injured in a bear attack, they decide he’s a goner and leave him behind to die. When he recovers instead, he swears revenge on them and tracks them and their paranoiac expedition leader down.

In underworld terms Chas Devlin (James Fox) is a ‘performer,’ a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner (Mick Jagger) is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide–and the impact is both exotic and explosive.

The first of several social realism films by Ken Loach, this had less impact than those made as TV plays. Poor Cow follows the tangled life of Joy, who turns to Dave after her lover is jailed for theft. When Dave in turn is jailed, she is left with a son to keep. When he goes missing, she sees what’s important.