It's 1985; against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching University Challenge, a college quiz show; but communicating with the fairer sex proves to be something of a non-starter. With a place on the show assured, Brian is ready for anything – anything except for falling in love with fellow student and team-mate Alice, that is. To complicate matters further, Brian must resist the temptation of animal rights activist Rebecca and overcome the nagging doubt that he’s about to become the pretentious student his childhood friends fear.