Based on real events and filmed at the actual location where this story took place, a real life drama set during the Rwandan genocide in 1994: Joe Connor has come to teach in Rwanda because he believes he can make a difference. When the school becomes a haven for thousands of Tutsis fleeing the violent Hutu militia using clubs and machetes, Joe promises his brightest pupil, Marie, that the U.N. soldiers will protect her from the hordes of extremist baying for blood outside the school. But when the U. N. abandons the refugees, Joe and the school's headmaster, Father Christopher, face an agonizing dilemma: should they leave or should they stand firm with the Tutsis? As the U.N. trucks force their way through the terrified refugees, Joe stares at the tear-stained face of Marie: what should he do?