During 1970, in Minamata ‐ a small fishing village in Japan, a fisherman, Teru Moriya is struggling to make ends meet and to care for his family especially his young, severely disabled daughter. The livelihood of all the fishermen in the village is at stake since many people are falling ill, and the suspected culprit is mercury being drained from a nearby chemical plant and polluting the waters. People in the village are at odds since some in the village are dependent on the chemical plant for their livelihood. The illness is dividing the town, families including Teru Moriya's and destroying individual lives. Women in the village have banded together todiscover the truth, save their children and spark the global environmental movement.