Jakarta, Indonesia is the home to over 10 million people.  One of them is Rafi.  Rafi is a man, now in his sixties, who lives with his wife, a daughter, his son, his son’s wife and a sister-in-law in a small apartment in Jakarta.  He works for an American couple, The Wards.  He chauffeurs Mrs. Ward while her husband, Don, an oil executive, spends most of his time up in the natural gas fields in the Aceh province. 

He was born as his country was born, out of colonial rule and then Japanese occupation.  He lived through the hopes of independence but then had to flee Aceh during the persecution and violence of the 60s and the ensuing repression.  He found anonymity and a life in Jakarta from that time on. 

The day after the wedding of his daughter, he is driving Mrs. Ward as usual, this time to a luncheon with her friends.  A young boy steals a wallet from a street side cafe.  The waiter from the cafe runs after him.  In trying to escape being caught, the boy runs out into the street and directly into the path of Mrs. Ward’s car. 

Rafi wants to stop the car but Mrs. Ward, afraid of what might happen if they do, insists that they keep on driving.  This film is about what happens next. 

It is loosely based on actual events.