Christmas, 2016. Toby and Angelica are back at their father's farm. He is at the end of the worst year of his life. Struggling in every way, Frank hires Jerzy, a Polish worker, who lives on the farm with his wife, Irena. Previous worker Damien convinces himself that his home and job have been stolen from him by migrant workers. Jerzy and Irena keep noticing Damien's menacing presence, but Frank is too wrapped up in his own problems to help; tensions to run high as they try to find a new normal.
Examining the cultural fractures in Britain at the end of 2016 and the impact of the EU referendum on rural farming communities, Small Rivers explores grief, trust, national identity and xenophobia, asking how we can reconcile the relationships between people and place.