Mercury Fur is set in a post-apocalyptic version of London's East End, where terror, gangs, violence and drugs in the form of butterflies rule. The protagonists are a gang of youths, surviving by their wits. They deal the butterflies, engaging in trade with objects from places like the British Museum, looted by their butterfly-addicted customers. But their main source of 'income' is holding parties for wealthy clients, in which their wildest fantasies are brought to life.
In the non-stop two hours of the play, the party in question revolves around the murder of a child with a meat hook, staged in a Vietnam-style fantasy of the Party Guest. The gang ultimately have to face the question of how far they are willing to go in order to save the people they love.