This gritty drama stars Bob Hoskins as Sharkey, an opportunistic messenger for black-market adoptions who forms an unexpected bond with 9-year-old orphan Vlado Petric (Sergiusz Zymelka) while masquerading as a relief worker in war-ravaged Bosnia. At first planning to sell the boy in Poland, Sharkey instead takes the enterprising youngster under his wing, and the duo sets off on a perilous journey to make their way out of the country.