Sean Okden (Adam Garcia) is a dissatisfied young steelworker and rebellious, gifted tap dancer that gets a chance to escape his dead-end job by landing a spot in a big Sydney dance show. Sean's brother, Mitch (Sam Worthington), is also a talented dancer but aspires to start a trucking company - a dream that the young men's tough, lonely father Gary (Richard Carter) has an easier time accepting.

The brothers' close relationship is tested when both fall for the beautiful Linda (Sophie Lee), and when Mitch's sideline habit of stealing cars causes trouble with local thugs. Sean's hotheaded ways get him kicked out the Sydney show, but when he returns to Newcastle, he rallies some fellow blue-collar tap school graduates to create a new, cutting-edge dance show. Despite the town's ridicule and his heartbreak over Linda, Sean fights to follow his dream.