Martin Stang, a bank robber (Hargreaves) finds himself behind bars and decides to pursue another con job; his escape.

The pair become intimate during Martin's day release but his con is complicated when he reveals to Sarah that he is not in fact blind.

[2] The film is based on the true story of Carl Synnerdahl, a convict who posed as a blind man to get a lighter sentence and had been forced to keep up the deception.

Several directors were approached to make the movie but turned it down, including Bruce Beresford, Michael Thornhill, Phillip Noyce and Esben Storm.

Eventually British director Claude Whatham was imported, which was highly controversial because the movie was made with funds from the Australian tax payer.