In rural Cambodia, spirited 14-year-old Chakra works the rice fields with his family. He yearns for independence and seeks out a local broker who can get him paid work in a Thai factory. Chakra secretly journeys across the border in order to travel to Bangkok to make his fortune. He and his new friend Kea realise the broker has lied to them and soon both, along with other Cambodians and Burmese, are sold to a fishing captain and are trapped at sea indefinitely, trawling fish 22 hours a day. The captain quickly weeds out those slaves weakened by the conditions or trying to escape and throws them overboard – the trawler sells its catch and restocks its supplies without going to land, making escape impossible. With hope and humanity dwindling, Chakra must make a decision that will change his fate.