I

n 1759, under French colonial rule on the island of Mauritius, 16-year-old Mati (Anna Diakhere Thiandoum) refuses to accept a life of slavery on the sugar plantations. Her father, Massamba (Ibrahima Mbaye), has been broken by years of oppression, but Mati dreams of freedom. When she flees to a rumored refuge for runaway slaves, it triggers a ruthless pursuit led by the plantation owner (Benoît Magimel) and merciless slave owner Madame La Victoire (Camille Cottin).