 IRA member Bobby Sands is imprisoned in Northern Ireland. Denied political-prisoner-of-war status, he initiates a hunger strike. This is the true story of real IRA bombers during the peak of the troubles in Northern Ireland, 1981. The screenplay was adapted from Sands  real diary, which he kept for the first 17 days of his 66-day hunger strike, until his ultimate death. The story follows a visit to Bobby by his mother. However, the cold British Guard (Bale) is quick to end this visit, throwing Bobby s mother out!