Until the early 1970s, thousands of British children -- many orphans, others taken by social workers from broken homes -- were packed onto ships bound for Australia. Promised oranges and sunshine, many instead endured abuse in workhouses as virtual slaves. In 1987, Nottingham, England, social worker Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) learns the horrific extent of this program as she attempts to help two of its survivors, the timid Jack (Hugo Weaving) and the violent Len (David Wenham).