Jim, a gay teacher in a London comprehensive school, lives the classic double life: straight days in school, gay nights in bars and discos. With each new pick-up the same tension and uncertainty arises: is there any­ thing more to gay life than the one night stand? At school he finds himself overworked and forced to hide his true experiences and feelings. After the traditional year-end school dance, and a drunken staff party, Jim finally pours out something of himself to a friendly female teacher. It is a step toward openness and enables Jim to face the inevitable explosion triggered by his curious 14-year-old students.

Writers/directors Ron Peck and Paul Hallam began work on Nighthawks in 1975, creating the first feature film to come out of a gay community. Conceived as a "panoramic view of gay life in Lon­don," they soon realized it couldn't cover everything, and that what was needed was "hundreds of gay films, not half a dozen, to make homosexuality visible in the cinema."