In Venice, the merchant Antonio borrows money so his friend can woo a beautiful lady. He agrees that if he doesn't repay Shylock the moneylender, Shylock can take a pound of his flesh. When Antonio's ships sink and he loses his fortune, Shylock insists on the gruesome payment...
Life has always been tough on the streets of Stepney, where Elsie and her brother Mikey are growing up in a vermin-infested slum nicknamed “Paradise”. But the rise of antisemitic fascist Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts in the 1930s stirs up trouble between families who have lived closely together for years, and Elsie sees friendships torn apart. When Elsie and Mikey attend a Mosley …