In 1860s New Zealand, a young Irish woman finds herself caught on both sides of the line during the wars between Maori tribes and the British colonial army.
Sarah O'Brien (Samantha Morton) has grown up among soldiers in a frontier garrison on Te Awa Nui, the Great River. Pregnant by a Maori boy, she gives birth to a son. Seven years later her son, Boy, is kidnapped by his Maori grandfather.
Abandoned by her soldier father, Sarah's life becomes a search for her son. Her only friend, Doyle (Kiefer Sutherland) is a broken-down soldier without the means to help her.
As the conflict between the Maori and the colonial forces escalates Sarah finds herself at the centre of the storm. She is torn by the love she feels for her son, anguished over the attachments she still has to the white man's world, and sickened by the brutality she witnesses on either side. Sarah must choose; will she return to the white man's way of life, or will she have the courage to follow where her instincts tell her she truly belongs?
With darkness all around, and desperate to find her son, she discovers that only the heart can see...
| Directed by | Vincent Ward |
| Written by | Vincent Ward, Toa Fraser |
