Sexy 18-year-old gang member, Cal (Wayne Virgo) lives a life of drugs, sex hookups and random acts of violence – all the whole, concdaling his true gay identity. As the film begins, Cal hooks up with an anonymous stranger that temporarily satisfies his cravings, but fails to quell lust for his best friend, Jonno (Tom Bott). Nessa (Alice Payne), their foul-mouthed, controlling gang leader, suspects that there is something sexual between the boys, but she can’t prove it, so she tries to split the two apart. Cal begins to drift away from the gang as his true self emerges. The gang violently attack a gay cutie, Olivier (Marc Laurent) but Cal decides to make his break from the gang official by giving Oliver a chance to escape. Ignoring Nessa’s vile taunts, Cal follows Olivier and takes him to safety. The two young men then plot their revenge, which quickly leads to lust and then love. Shank is a very real, edgy and raw British drama played out on the streets of Bristol.