True North

In Fujian, a group of farmers approach a Snakehead, crafting stories meant to gain sympathy in the West. They spin plausible but deceitful tales to secure passage and aid once they reach abroad. This prologue sets up the desperation that drives later actions.

The Providence, a Scottish fishing trawler from Peterhead, lands at Ostend, Belgium, and all crew except the Skipper disembark. Seán, Riley, and the cook head to an all-night café, while the Skipper remains aboard. The separation hints at looming decisions about illegal smuggling.

Seán phones and then meets Pol, a dockside contact, in a warehouse on the pier. Pol offers Seán a large sum to smuggle a group of Chinese immigrants into the UK instead of cigarettes. Seán is tempted but wary, balancing his debt with the risk.

Facing debt to his father and mortgage pressure, Seán reluctantly agrees to smuggle the Chinese immigrants. He accepts the money and joins the plan, which places him in conflict with the ship's crew. The decision deepens the moral stakes of the voyage.

Riley returns to find the refugees secretly aboard the Providence. Seán and Riley decide not to inform the Skipper or the cook about the stowaways. The crew's moral line blurs as the voyage continues.

A 12-year-old Chinese girl, Su Li, sneaks away from the main hold and hides in another part of the ship. She begins stealing food to survive, moving unseen among the crew. Her presence gradually becomes a hidden pressure on the voyage.

The cook discovers food has gone missing, though he does not realize the source. Su Li's resourcefulness puts her at risk, while the other men remain in the dark. Tension builds as the hidden stowaways threaten to be exposed.

Seán insists they cannot return home with an empty catch, fearing mortgage and arrest. The nets come up near empty several times, and the hold grows more wretched. The crew's desperation deepens the ethical cost of their choices.

One of the Chinese stowaways dies, triggering Riley's decision to tell the Skipper. The revelation forces a confrontation between Seán and the Skipper about the plan. The moral tension shifts toward an irreversible decision.

The Skipper browbeats Seán, realizing the scheme endangers everyone and threatens their livelihoods. He resolves to return to Scotland, and in a fatal moment hands the wheel to Seán. This marks a pivotal turn toward the voyage's final reckoning.

Believing return will mean arrest and ruin, the Skipper drowns the immigrants aboard the ship. His decision sacrifices the vulnerable group to protect himself and the vessel. The act foreshadows the grim moral collapse at sea.

After the killings, Seán and Riley pull the nets and find they are full of corpses. The gruesome discovery horrifies the crew and intensifies the sense of catastrophe. The scene underscores the consequences of their earlier choices.

The cook assaults the Skipper with a chain, killing him to prevent the captain from harming Su Li. The act closes the captain's cycle of moral compromise and adds another layer of tragedy. The crew realizes the price of the voyage's choices.

Riley and Su Li stand at a bus stop in Peterhead as the voyage ends. Su Li boards a coach, carrying the large sum of money hidden in her bag. The final image carries a sense of unresolved futures and lingering consequences.