An ambitious Irish graduate is given a job in London, but the actions of the British Army causes him to reconsider the move. Deciding to put his principles before his career, he joins his brother in the Republican movement, but as the political landscape shifts the siblings discover their ideas of freedom are quite different. Ken Loach's historical drama, set in Ireland in the 1920s, with Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney.

In 1920s Ireland young doctor Damien O'Donovan prepares to depart for a new job in a London hospital. As he says his goodbyes at a friend's farm, British Black and Tans arrive, and a young man is killed. Damien joins his brother Teddy in the Irish Republican Army, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.