This is the second part of a projected trilogy by Bill Douglas about the childhood of a lonely boy in a Scots mining village. It is set in the late forties in the desperately poor village of Newcraighall. My Ain Folk follows the first part, My Childhood, which won the Best First Film Award at the Venice Festival. It has been compared with Kenneth Loach's Kes in its simplicity and warm humour, despite the grim subject matter.

Jamie is an eight-year-old, who is looked after by his senile and bitter grandmother. His mother is in a mental hospital; even the identity of his father is not clear. His only friend is a German P.O.W. My Ain Folk carries on from the death of Jamie's grandmother. He is taken in by his paternal grandparents, and, in a fashion, by his father. Jamie's grandmother accepts her charge as a duty, but it is clear she feels it as a burden, and there is no hint of affection in her attitude toward him. When Jamie's mother dies in hospital, his situation at home worsens.