Pierce Brosnan stars as Desmond Doyle, an Irishman whose troubles mount after his philandering wife runs away with another man. As a single, unemployed father with a penchant for Dublin's pubs, Doyle is deemed an unfit parent, and his daughter and two younger sons are placed in orphanages. Despite his problems, Doyle is an utterly devoted dad and decides to fight for custody of his children and his right to raise them alone. Doyle's crack pro bono legal team--played by Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, and Alan Bates--takes his case all the way to the Irish Supreme Court in 1953, challenging the church and courts.