In the turbulent year of 1975, amidst the chaos of the Khmer Republic, we meet Loung Ung, a five-year-old girl and the daughter of a dedicated officer known affectionately as Pa to his seven children. The backdrop of the narrative unfolds during the Vietnam War, where the conflict spills over into tranquil Cambodia as the U.S. military starts targeting North Vietnamese forces seeking refuge within the country's borders. This tumultuous situation ignites the Cambodian Civil War, leading to a severe evacuation of the U.S. embassy in the area.
As the oppressive grip of the Khmer Rouge tightens, they seize control of Phnom Penh, forcefully expelling families under the guise of impending bombings by the Americans. In a desperate bid for survival, Pa Ung maintains that he does not work for the government when confronted by Khmer Rouge soldiers, fully aware that the truth would cost him his life. They are able to find temporary shelter with Uncle (Loung's maternal uncle), who provides refuge until Aunt's nagging fear of repercussions for harboring them drives Loung's family into a perilous journey.
Days of grueling travel ensue, culminating in their capture by the Khmer Rouge soldiers who transport them to a labor camp. Here, families are subjected to forced labor while they must construct their own shelters amidst dire living conditions. The oppressive regime confiscates their belongings, and with scant food available—most of which is redirected to sustenance for soldiers—desperation sets in, leading to brutal punishments for those seeking additional nourishment. Tragically, Loung is forced to bear witness to the horrific beatings of her siblings in their struggle for survival.
The labor camp becomes a breeding ground for propaganda, with foreign items—including life-saving medications—strictly forbidden and punishable by death. Loung's world becomes even bleaker when her two oldest brothers, along with her sister Keav, are moved to different camps, ultimately receiving the devastating news of Keav's death from dysentery.
In a heart-wrenching farewell, Loung witnesses her father being taken by Khmer Rouge officials under the pretense of repairing a bridge. His grim prediction looms over their family as he bids goodbye to his beloved wife and children. This haunting moment plunges Loung into a nightmare where she envisions her father meeting a tragic end, buried within the cruel confines of a mass grave. It isn’t long before Ma instructs Loung, her brothers Kim and Chou, to flee in disparate directions, adopting false identities as orphans. Together, Loung and Chou manage to escape to a different camp, separated from Kim.
At the new camp, Loung finds herself enlisted as a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge, amid ongoing border skirmishes with the Vietnamese, where she is trained in hand-to-hand combat and the preparations for laying minefields against the opposing forces. Although the conditions are less harsh than in the labor camps—where children are nourished and treated with slightly more compassion—the indoctrination into bitterness and hatred against the Vietnamese is relentless. In a moment of fleeting reprieve, Loung receives permission to visit her sister in the labor camp, but instead, she travels to the site where her mother and youngest sister Geak are believed to be. To her horror, she discovers their hut empty, left only with the chilling news from an elderly woman: her family has been taken by the Khmer Rouge soldiers. That night, her dreams torment her with visions of her mother and Geak meeting tragic fates in mass graves.
The turmoil escalates further as Loung's camp falls victim to Vietnamese shelling, compelling her to flee alongside fellow civilians. During this harrowing escape, she reunites with her siblings at a temporary refugee camp managed by Vietnamese forces. As they settle in, the calm is shattered when Khmer Rouge forces launch an attack the following morning, forcing the children to slip behind the protective Vietnamese lines and into the perilous depths of the jungle. There, Loung finds herself isolated from her beloved siblings, haunted by the horrors of seeing fellow refugees mutilated by landmines she had helped to set up.
Eventually, the three siblings are joyfully reunited at another Red Cross-run refugee camp. However, the scars of violence linger; Loung is shaken when she witnesses the public beating of a captured Khmer Rouge soldier, triggering a flood of memories and flashbacks to her tumultuous past. As the war draws to a close, the siblings are joyously reunited with their surviving brothers, who have also withstood the harrowing experiences of the camps. The movie reaches its poignant conclusion with the adult Loung and her siblings, united once more, kneeling in prayer with the monks amidst the ruins of a Buddhist temple, honoring the memory of their lost family members.
