In South Yorkshire, a small group of railway maintenance men discover that because of privatization, their lives will never be the same. When the trusty British Rail sign is replaced by one reading East Midland Infrastructure, it is clear that there will be the inevitable winners and losers as downsizing and efficiency become the new buzzwords.
The story of a young mother with a failed marriage behind her, who fights daily for her dream to open a hair salon, challenging her fate in an effort to free herself and gain independence and right to happiness.
Angie is a working class woman. After being fired, she decides to set up a recruitment agency of her own, running it from her kitchen with her friend, Rose. Taking advantage of the desperation of immigrants, Angie builds a successful business extremely quickly.
A day in the life of photo model Liv. But it's no ordinary day. She breaks up with her fiance, father and her own empty life as a model, and has to find a new place to live. But is it that easy to make a clean break?
Sonia and Arturo live in a house that appears safe but is too large and silent. One night, three armed men violently break into the couple's property. Arturo manages to escape and capture the youngest and most inexperienced of the thieves, deciding to kidnap him and discipline him in the basement of the house. Gradually, the anger dissipates, and strange familial ties emerge that Arturo and Sonia believed were long gone. "Salvajes" is a violent portrayal of a divided society, in an unequal social fabric where the boundaries between victim and perpetrator become blurred.
Young, impulsive Rosetta lives a hard and stressful life as she struggles to support herself and her alcoholic mother. Refusing all charity, she is desperate to maintain a dignified job.
Lorna is a young Albanian woman in a marriage of convenience with Claudy, a heroin addict. Just as Lorna is about to be granted Belgian citizenship, Claudy finds the strength to detox; this presents a problem not only for Lorna, but for the criminal who brokered the deal.
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends - Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.
Claudio is a construction worker living in the outskirts of Rome. He's happily married and his wife is pregnant with their third child. However, a dramatic event comes to upset this simple and happy life.
Zoƫ is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.