26-year-old Mark Renton is an unemployed heroin addict living with his parents in the suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. He regularly partakes in drug use with his friends: Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, a treacherous, womanising James Bond fanatic; Daniel "Spud" Murphy, an outwardly docile confidence trickster; and Swanney, "Mother Superior", their dealer. Renton is warned about the dangers of his drug habit by his other friends, Francis "Franco" Begbie, an aggressive psychopath, and Tommy Mackenzie, a footballer, who both abstain from drugs. Growing tired of his reckless lifestyle, Renton attempts to wean himself off heroin with opium suppositories given by dealer Mikey Forrester. At a nightclub, Renton notices that his cessation of heroin use has increased his libido. He woos a girl named Diane Coulston and they have sex in the apartment owned by her parents, but is horrified to learn that she is below the age of consent. Diane uses this as a threat against Renton to continue their relationship.
