S1, E1: In a school in small-town west of Ireland, Connell (Paul Mescal) is a well-liked, good looking and athletic student. Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a proud, intimidating and unpopular loner who actively avoids her classmates and questions her teachers' authority. An attraction sparks between them when Connell comes to collect his mother Lorraine (Sarah Greene) who works at Marianne's house. A deep connection grows between the two teenagers - one they cannot stop but that they are determined to conceal from their peers.