这是鲍尔（马修·麦克费登 Matthew Macfadyen 饰）这十几年来第一次踏上故乡的土地，他来这里不为了别的，只为了参加父亲的葬礼。作为鲍尔的兄长，安德鲁（科林·莫伊 Colin Moy 饰）对于兄弟的来访却并不高兴，时间使人们变得陌生，迥异的个性又为他们制造了矛盾。在安德鲁的强烈要求下，鲍尔来到了父亲曾经呆过的小屋，清算父亲留下的遗产，没想到，在小屋里，鲍尔遇见了一位名叫西莉亚（艾米丽·巴克雷 Emily Barclay 饰）的少女。 　　受朋友所托，鲍尔担任了写作课的代课老师，在班上，他再一次的看到了西莉亚的身影。令鲍尔吃惊的是，西莉亚竟然是他和前女友的爱情结晶而他对此一无所知。在血缘的影响下，鲍尔对西莉亚格外的照顾和关心，不遗余力的支持着她追求自己的梦想，这样的状态一直持续到了西莉亚突然失踪的那一天，同时，一个不为人知的秘密就此揭开。Paul, a prize-winning war journalist, returns to his remote New Zealand hometown due to the death of his father, battle-scarred and world-weary. For the discontented sixteen-year-old Celia he opens up a world she has only dreamed of. She actively pursues a friendship with him, fascinated by his cynicism and experience of the world beyond her small-town existence. But many, including the members of both their families, frown upon the friendship and when Celia goes missing, Paul becomes the increasingly loathed and persecuted prime suspect in her disappearance. As the violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced to confront the family tragedy and betrayal that he ran from as a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.