Hold Back the Night is an adolescent drama about Charleen and Declan, who are running away from their pasts, their families, and the police. They are heading towards the Scottish Highlands. They have both been abused and damaged; consequently, they are complex and difficult. On the way, they encounter such figures as Killer, an unlovable pit bull, and Vera, whose dying wish is to see the sun rise on the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney. As the two teenagers begin to come to terms with each other and their environment, they loosen up and build a relationship of love and trust. The film tells the story of how Charleen and Declan learn to put away the ghosts of the past and become first friends, then lovers in a barren but calm and beautiful landscape.