Hamish is sensible, conscientious, and respectable, friends with the good boys, stays away from the bad ones. When his father is murdered in an act of random violence, Hamish's world turns upside down. Angry and alienated, Hamish begins to lose his tolerant beliefs and is drawn towards racist reactions. A move to France promises a much needed new beginning, but only builds Hamish's new attitudes as he becomes embroiled in the narrow-minded views of the locals. But then a boat of north-african refugees founders on the coast and Hamish encounters the sole survivor. Now his world is turned upside down again, caught between the violence of his past experiences and new realities unfolding in front of him.