In the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the Outback, Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is presented with an impossible proposition by local law enforcer Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone). To save his younger brother Mikey from the gallows he must track down and kill Arthur (Danny Huston), his psychotic older brother.

While Charlie is forced to choose between revenge, loyalty and his own conscience, Stanley, having given up a civilised life in England, is determined to impose law and order and shield his innocent wife Martha (Emily Watson) from the brutalities o their new surroundings.

A palpable sense of foreboding festers against the oppressive heat, as each character takes on their punishing moral dilemmas and the inevitable cycle of violence reaches its bloody conclusion.