The film explores themes of race, gender, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The film follows Fergus Rea , a member of the IRA , who has a brief but meaningful encounter with a British soldier, Jody Whitaker , who is being held prisoner by the group. Fergus later develops an unexpected romantic relationship with Jody's lover, Dil Davidson , whom Fergus promised Jody he would take care of.
Fergus is forced to decide between what he wants and what his nature dictates he must do. In , the British Film Institute named it the 26th-greatest British film of all time. At a fairground in rural Northern Ireland , a Provisional IRA volunteer named Fergus and a unit of other IRA members, led by a man named Maguire, kidnap a black British soldier named Jody after a female member of their unit, Jude, lures Jody to a secluded area with the promise of sex.
They ransom Jody for the release of an imprisoned IRA member, threatening to kill him in three days if their demands are not met. While Fergus stands guard over Jody, the two bond, much to the chagrin of the other group members. Jody tells Fergus the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog.
The deadline set by Jody's captors passes with their demands unmet, and Fergus is ordered to take Jody into the woods to kill him. When Jody tries to escape, Fergus pursues him but cannot bring himself to shoot the fleeing man in the back. However, Jody is accidentally run over and killed by a British armoured personnel carrier as it moves in to attack the IRA safehouse.
With his companions seemingly killed in the attack, Fergus flees to London, where he takes a job as a day labourer using the alias "Jimmy". A few months later, Fergus finds Dil, working as a stylist at a hair salon. Later, they talk in a bar, where Dil is tormented by a drunken customer, and Fergus follows the pair, who return to Dil's apartment for sex. Fergus, consumed by guilt over Jody's death, pursues Dil, protecting her from her obsessive suitor, and soon begins falling in love with her.
