Mulberry Bush School is an Oxford education facility for emotionally disturbed children, who have been excluded from mainstream schools. Longinotto captures the inner life of Mulberry Bush, focusing especially on the stories of three boys, Michael, Ben and Alex, all struggling at different stages of development, but all of them linked by the experience, of having to endure great sadness. Avoiding sensationalism, the violence a boy is capable of is never construed as his true nature, but as something to be overcome - with the help of their extremely patient tutors.