Sacrifice!
John Bradley is a British journalist and photographer on vacation in Bangkok, Thailand. He is first seen taking photos and seeing the sights, until he arrives at a kickboxing match with a date. His date grows increasingly bored and disgruntled by Bradley's refusal to leave, until she finally walks out on him, which doesn't bother him in the slightest. An unidentified man sees her leave, and presumably upset over the disrespect shown towards the young woman, he follows Bradley to a bar where he confronts him with a knife. After a brief struggle, Bradley manages to turn the weapon against the man and kills him. Even though he killed in self defense, Bradley immediately flees the scene knowing the Thai authorities will arrest him and probally sentence him to death for the killing as a result of being a foreigner in their country.
The next day, Bradley begins his trip deep into the rain forest first by traveling by train to a point several hundred miles north of Bangkok. At the train's stop, John rents a canoe and a guide to take him down a nearby river towards the Burma border. Still fearing that he'll be captured by the Thai authorities, he pays off the man to not mention their encounter. After rowing a ways and taking several wildlife photos, Bradley's guide, Tuan, mentions his concerns about traveling so far down river, which he reports as being dangerous. Bradley agrees to head back after one more day of traveling.
That evening, Bradley falls asleep, and when he awakes the next day, he finds Tuan dead with an arrow in his throat. Before he has any chance to escape, a native Thai tribe captures him in a net and carries him to their village. The chief, Luhan, is told that the group has captured a large fish-man. At the village, Bradley is hung in the net from a high pole, where a group of young children hit him with bamboo stalks. While hanging, Bradley witnesses the execution of two war criminals by his captive tribe. The tribe is at war with another, even more primitive Burmese tribe of cannibals, whom are named the Kuru. Two of the Kuru cannibals have their tongues cut off in the village center. Bradley reacts with disgust, labeling the tribe as murderers.
Still in the net and hanging for hours, Bradley notices that he has attracted the attention of Maray, the beautiful and naked daughter of the chief who takes an immediate fascination with the stranger. She convinces her father that John is not a fish-man, just a man. Luhan agrees to release Bradley as Maray's slave. He is forced to stay locked in a shack for hours, where Taima, Maray's governess, introduces herself. She is a missionary child and can speak English, and tells Bradley that soon he will be released, as Maray will be married to a fellow tribesman, named Karen, in ten days. Luhan interrupts the two and unties Bradley because it is the day of the Feast of the Sun. During the feast, a helicopter flies overhead. Bradley tries to be rescued, but he is subdued by other warriors, who nearly kill him. Maray intervenes, however, protecting her property. The helicopter gives John hope, and he plans escape, which Taima agrees to eventually help him with.
A month or so passes, as Bradley grows even more tense. During one day of labor, a building accident kills a young man. Bradley watches the funeral ceremonies and is again shocked by the actions of the natives. During the ceremony, Taima tells Bradley that now is his time to escape. He does, but Karen and a group of warriors chase after him. They corner him at a waterfall, where Bradley kills Karen. Again a helicopter flies by, and again John goes unnoticed. After Karen's death, the tribe decides to incorporate Bradley as one of them. He faces various rituals and tortures until he is finally released and accepted as a warrior, and he uses his knowledge of modern technology and medicine to help the tribe, but, as a result, becomes an enemy of the tribe's witch doctor. During this time, he and Maray begin to become fond of each other, until Maray must choose a new fianc. Of the tribe's warriors, Maray chooses John Bradley, and the two are married. After the wedding, the two run into the wilderness where Bradley gets naked and has sex with Maray. This ends up getting Maray pregnant. During the conception, however, a black butterfly flew over the two lovers, a foreboding of ill fate.
Six months after Bradley has been captured, he has finally accepted his new life with Maray. However, this is also when the Burmese Kuru cannibals decide to strike. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, are ambushed outside of the village by the Kuru. The girl is killed and the boy mortally wounded, but he still is able to inform the others of the attack before he dies. Bradley joins other warriors to eliminate the attack party, and they arrive to see the Kuru party consuming the young woman. The group attacks the cannibals, with Bradley participating in activities he earlier condemned. When Bradley returns, however, he learns that Maray has fallen ill from the pregnancy and has been stricken blind. John believes the only way to save her is to take her back to civilization for modern medicinal treatment. Taima helps the two escape, but she is caught in doing so has her hand cut off as punishment. Bradley and Maray are captured and forced to return to the village.
Upon their return, Maray goes into labor. Again Bradley rejects the witch doctor, sending him away from the ailing Maray. At this time, the Kuru warriors return to attack the village. They set fire to many huts before John and the other warriors are able to react. In the ensuing and graphic climatic battle, Bradley takes Maray to safety until the cannibals are fought back and withdraw. As John tries to comfort Maray's pain, he points out a black butterfly overhead. Maray then reveals the significance of the butterfly: death. Maray finally gives birth, and dies shortly after. Bradley wanders aimlessly through the jungle upon his wife's death, only sadly recollecting memories of her. Again a helicopter flies overhead, and after a moment of contemplation, he takes cover with the rest of the tribe, deciding to stay with them, probably for life, to help them rebuild and live against the Kuru and the elements.
