Against the wishes of the Bishop, Father Damian (Alan Devlin), the principal of St. Jude's Reformatory School, appoints William Franklin (Aidan Quinn) the only lay teacher among a staff of Catholic Brothers.

Franklin's teaching methods are diametrically opposed to those of the Brothers, who resort to verbal and physical abuse. As Franklin tries to build a relationship based on trust with the boys, he unlocks their hidden talents, teaching them to appreciate poetry, recruiting Liam Mercier (John Travers), an exceptionally talented boy, to help him take on the challenge. Discovering at St.Jude's the same kind of repression and tyranny he fought against in Spain, Franklin continues to have flashbacks to his days in the Spanish Civil War.

When on Christmas day, Brother John gratuitously beats two young brothers, who have broken a school rule, Mercier and Franklin curtail the violence but not for long: Brother John's determination to find out why Franklin has decided to teach at St. Jude's, results in more brutality, with unimaginable consequences.