In the heart of Freetown, Sierra Leone, UN soldiers guard a heavily fortified building known as the "special court," where Issa Sesay awaits trial. Prosecutors say Sesay is a war criminal guilty of heinous crimes against humanity; his defenders say he is a reluctant fighter who protected civilians and played a crucial role in bringing peace to Sierra Leone. With unprecedented access to prosecutors, defense attorneys, victims, and Sesay himself from behind bars, the film puts international justice on trial, finding that in some cases the past is not just painful but also opaque. Filmed as the Special Court for Sierra Leone prepared to become the first major war crimes tribunal to conclude its cases since Nuremberg.