The film starts with a military invasion against a little settlement in South Africa at a location called Crossroads. The day after, the newspaper editor, Donald Woods criticisis Steve Biko who was the South African black consciousness movement leader for being racistic against the whites through the Black counsciousness. Dr. Ramphele who is Biko's friend, visits Woods and tells him to meet Steve Biko in his banning area at King William's town. Biko shows Donald Woods a clinic where black medical people works and tells him his ideas.

Later that night he takes Woods to a little township. Donald Woods now agrees with Steve Biko and employs to black reporters to give the poeple a black point of view. Steve Biko defies his ban which made it illegal to him to be in the same room with two or more poeple at the same time exluding his family. He speaks at a football match. Later when he was caught by the police he got indentified as the speaker by a black man in a cardboard box, but the police do not harm him because he is gonna participate in an upcomming trial.

The black counsciousness comunity centre got destroyed by the local police, but in disguise. A witness tells Donald Woods that the local police chief was the leader of the crime. Donald Woods complains to the South African Minister of Justice, Jimmy Krueger. He tells the minister to have a conversation with Steve Biko. Donald Woods is visited by local police and told he must name his witness or go to prison. Donald Woods was fearing for the safety of the witness so he didn't give them the witness' name.

Donald Woods meets with Steve Biko and tells him that he (Woods) is facing prison. The Black members of Donald Woods' staff begin to get arrested. After the death of one ("suicide" while in jail), Steve Biko comes to Donald Woods' house, telling him of his plans to go to Johannesburg to meet with some students. Donald Woods didn't want Biko to go, but he did.

Steve Biko was stopped on the road to Johannesburg and taken into custody. Some days later, a doctor is brought in to examine Steve Biko, who is in a near coma and beaten badly. The doctor tells the Police to get Steve Biko to a specialist. They put him in an ambulance and take him to Pretoria, which is far, far away.

Steve Biko dies in jail. The government reports that he died from a hungerstrike.

After Steve Biko's funeral, Donald Woods begins to feel more pressure from the police. Later he got arrested and banned. Woods do now want to leave South Africa and publish Steve Biko's book. While they were escaping, Donald was disguised as a priest and does a funny dance once he's safely in Lesotho. When Donald and his family are flying over a South African territory without permission, during this a group of schoolchildren got massacred by the police force.

At the end of the film a list of black people who died in jail scrolls. The list gave their names and how they "died", most were sucide by hanging. And much less likely ones as "falling down the stairs" and "slipping in the shower". Many were also "No official explanation" was given.

My personal opinion of the film, is that it wasn't as good as I thought it'd be. Even though it was a great film, but I didn't like it. However, in a scale from 1 to 10 I'll give it a 4.