Through the experiences of a number of individuals, which we learn about through court and press reports, we build up a picture of the gang movement that has its roots in the working class areas where territorial loyalty was all and gambling was a national pastime driven underground by Victorian middle-class morality. We also follow the work of Professor Carl Chinn as he uncovers the stories of the real Peaky Blinders.

As the Peaky Blinders start to evolve from a mass gang movement interested in territory and fighting into the first organised crime gangs in Britain, we follow the career of Birmingham petty thief Billy Kimber, who, with his Birmingham gang, rose to dominate the illegal money-spinning rackets around horse racing at the start of the 20th century. World War I disrupts his quest to build an empire, but after the war Kimber moves south to take over the rackets in the southern English racecourses.