In a juvenile detention facility, 18-year-old Akbar awaits execution for the murder of his girlfriend when he was 16. Outside the prison walls, Akbar’s friend Ala, a paroled petty thief, offers to help Akbar’s sister secure clemency from the dead girl’s vengeful father.

An intricately plotted morality tale, Asghar Farhadi’s second feature astutely dissects the labyrinthine Iranian legal system where blood money and religious codes coexist. Piercing through this complex web of crime and punishment is the unexpected strength of boyish resilience and camaraderie.