Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, 1979. During a fortnight with his world-weary father, Angus is drawn to the underground post-punk music scene. With the support of his friend Kirsten, Angus navigates self doubt, derision and a family tragedy to take the stage for the first time.

Quentin is a destitute filmmaker who resorts to making home-made pornos to achieve his celluloid dreams. Nigel is a sweet and sensitive hairdresser, reluctantly lured by his hit-woman Mother to join her on one last lucrative job. Can Quentin convince his recently unemployed girlfriend, Debbie, to co-star in his upcoming pornographic masterpiece with his best buddy, Clarke? Can Nigel complete the job with his sanity intact or will he finally snap - becoming the psychopath his Mother always dreamed he'd be?

The 2005 discovery of a cannonball, buried for 138 years in a paddock, throws Waimate into turmoil. It is all the Maori locals need to confirm their long-held belief that they were forcibly removed from their tribal lands, in a bloody 1866 battle. The hotly contested claim eventually ends up in the District Court and on the lens of cameraman Dave who captures all the arguments, frauds and forgeries of the townspeople, in a cinema verité mockumentary style.