WANLE, a second-generation Hawaiian Filipino cockfighter in rural Hawaiʻi, is determined to avenge her father’s wrongful death by proving herself as the best pitta on the island at the fall derbies. Her partner, Cal, a Native American overcoming his own violent upbringing, is wary of the violence associated with the cockfighting world—especially the men. On the eve of a big competition, Wanle’s competitors set vicious dogs loose on her property, killing one of her prized cocks, Lono. Her pacifist boyfriend gives her a final ultimatum: him or her birds.