Answered By Fire

In 1975, the Portuguese colony of Timor was occupied by Indonesian forces. Over the next two decades, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in an ongoing battle for independence. In 1999, in a UN-supervised referendum, the conflict zone of East Timor finally won its freedom as the world’s newest independent democracy—a historic move of with mixed results for a country in transition.

Arriving in the town of Nunura—secured by the Indonesia militia to protect the recent ballot—Julie Fortin is forced to drive through a military blockade to gain entry to the UN base. Seconds later, as she is introduced to commanding officer Mark Waldman and Timorese interpreter Ismenio Soares, the militia attacks.

It is led by Sico, who will stop at nothing to sabotage the ballot, even intimidating his own cousin Ismenio, and his pro-independent family. But no one is really prepared for the bloody reality of what will follow. Struggling to protect the Timorese while entangled in a web of politics, violence, and mistrust.