SYNOPSIS:

In 1681, a young Irish woman walks through the early morning mist along a ship’s deck, seeking her first glimpse of the new world. One hundred years later, a young black slave awakens from a dream about the Irish woman, and prepares for the trial that will determine whether or not she will spend the rest of her life in bondage. Based on historical fact, Irish Nell is a story of love, betrayal, and a woman’s fortune trapped by the political evolution of slavery. Nell Butler, an indentured servant, lands in Maryland with Lord Baltimore. A few weeks later, her contract is sold to an influential plantation owner, Major William Boarman, and she is sent to work in the fields. Nell soon falls in love with Charles, an African slave, and she chooses to marry him despite a miscegenation law requiring her to be enslaved with her husband. Moments before the wedding, Lord Baltimore tries to dissuade her: “Do you not see? By this act, you place your life, your fate in the hands of another.” She replies that as a poor woman it will make little difference in how she lives, and “Fate is in no one’s hands. Why cannot Charles and I live happily? Because of race or position? God does not judge by those things. Neither shall I.” She adds, “You are the Governor. You can change the law.” Lord Baltimore revises the law to free Nell’s children, but loses control of the colony. Hard times follow, and Major Boarman betrays Nell to save his plantation, triggering a spiraling hatred that ultimately consumes him. As the Bill of Rights is ratified, Nell’s great-great granddaughter Mary Butler sues for her freedom. Her success depends on two dissenting lawyers. One, a young idealist, wants to lose her case and challenge slavery on appeal in the brand-new Supreme Court. The other, a street-wise black abolitionist wants Mary to win, and he shocks the post-revolutionary world with a surprise testimony in the dramatic conclusion of Irish Nell.