Plot: After the disastrous defeat of Irish rebels by superior UK forces during the Easter Rising, Michael Collins develops new strategies for the independence of Ireland. His tactics include what is now recognized as urban guerrilla tactics and organized assassinations of those Irish who work as informers for the UK government, and later members of British intelligence. Although Collins is conflicted about the necessity of this violent course, by 1921 the British are willing to negotiate. Sinn Fein President Eamon de Valera sends a reluctant Collins to London to negotiate a settlement. When Collins returns with a compromise of a partitioned Ireland and an Irish Free State, not a Republic, within the British Empire he is vilified by de Valera and repudiated by lifelong friend Harry Boland after Boland learns that his girlfriend Kitty Kiernan is in love with Collins. Collins is now faced with civil war as he struggles against those who insist on complete and unconditional independence for all of Ireland.
Alternative Plot: In the early 20th century, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson) leads the Irish Republican Army with the help of his friends Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn) and Eamon de Valera (Alan Rickman), in a violent battle for Ireland's independence from Britain. But, when he fears the defeat of his revolution, Collins negotiates a treaty with the British, deeming him a traitor to the IRA. When he receives orders to murder his friends, Collins must decide where his loyalties lie.
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