Based on a true story, Frankie Boy details the life, adventures and hard times of Frankie, growing up on the streets of Liverpool, England. Kate Hawkins, Frankie's mother, struggles to provide for her children in war-devastated Liverpool. As head of the house, eight-year-old Frankie helps his mother by stealing food for the table or coal for the fire. His truancy from school leads to being victimized in a series of harsh reform school settings. At sixteen, feeling estranged from his family and disillusioned by the surrounding poverty, he becomes a seaman on a Norwegian vessel. Kate fears...