ALMOST ADULT is the story of two teenage girls who come from different countries and speak different languages but still become each other's family. The two girls meet up at a bus station in Birmingham, England, where Marnie, the elder of the two, takes Shiku under her wing. In doing so, she resolves to be the younger girl's 'big sister.' The girls spend their first few days together finding their feet and trying to understand the strange new world in which they find themselves. Without a common language they still understand each other and form a real bond but when they find their way back to social services the girls are separated. Shiku is placed with a foster family and Marnie is given temporary hostel accommodation. Both girls try to adjust to their new lives but it is not easy. Both are haunted by the loss of their true families and the events which took place in their native countries prior to their arrival in the UK. Matters are made worse when Shiku's foster family prove to be unsympathetic to her situation and Marnie faces a deportation order from immigration authorities. Driven by courage and the determination to take control of her new life, Marnie finds Shiku on the verge of breakdown and recounts her own story in front of police and immigration officials, knowing that it will help to explain her young friend's behaviour. Filled with resolve, Marnie goes on to find a loophole in her immigration papers which will allow her leave to remain in the UK and, in turn, Shiku finds happiness with a new foster family.