From the outside, life at Mackintosh Textiles, in North-West England, appears to run smoothly. But in a community with so many secrets to hide, things are far from straightforward. Clocking Off is a patchwork of colourful stories. In each stand-alone episode, one character comes to the fore, while others fade into the background. Their jobs may be mundane but their private lives are filled with incident. Loveless marriages, disappearing husbands, bungled arson attempts, infidelity, gang harassment and plastic surgery all fuel the rumour machines at the factory.