Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the northern Puget Sound region of the Washington state coast in 1950, the plot revolves around the murder case of Kabuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune), a Japanese American accused of killing Carl Heine, a White American fisherman. The trial occurs in the midst of deep anti-Japanese sentiments following World War II. Covering the case is the editor of the town's one-man newspaper, Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke), a World War II veteran who lost an arm fighting the Japanese in the Pacific War. Ishmael struggles with his childhood, and continuing, love for Kabuo's wife, Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), and his conscience, wondering if Kabuo is truly innocent.