Young James struggles as the outsider kid at his school. His teacher, Mr. Sutherland, the only person he feels he can connect with. When James finally puts a voice to his feelings, Mr. Sutherland’s response isn’t what James had hoped for.

Cal, a young man on the fringes of the IRA, falls in love with Marcella, a Catholic woman whose husband, a Protestant policeman, was killed one year earlier by the IRA.