Michael Lamb, a young Christian Brother teaching at a remote and forbidding Remand Home on the Antrim coast, is made responsible for the welfare and discipline of a young 10-year-old boy, Owen, who has been put into the care of the Home by his callous delinquent mother. The repressive indifferent regime operated by the Home's superior, Brother Benedict, results in unjustified punishment and increasing isolation for Owen, who turns into an aggressive loner. When Michael's father dies, leaving him a small inheritance, Michael offers Owen the chance to escape to a new and happier life, free from the constant menace of Brother Benedict's tyranny.