For the children of George Khan, proud Pakistani fish and chip shop owner, life is one long compromise. For George, ′Ghengis′ to his kids, life is an uphill battle to get his family to conform to traditional Pakistani values. But this is is Salford in the 1970s. George′s English wife Ella is Lancashire born, and his kids have got minds of their own - Meenah prefers playing footie to wearing a sari, Saleem pretends to be studying engineering when he′s really at art school, Tariq has got a reputation as a local Casanova, and Sajid hasn′t even been circumcised yet. With one disastrous arranged marriage already in the family, George plots to bring his next two sons into line by marrying them off to the daughters of the Master Butcher, Mr. Shah. When the Khan kids begin to oppose father′s petty tyrannies, Ella is forced to make a choice between her love for her husband and the right of her children to make their own ways.