Five Minutes of Heaven is a gritty thriller exploring aspects of Northern Ireland’s troubled past and the challenges the future holds in coming to terms with it.

The story begins in 1975 when 17-year-old Alistair Little, a member of the UVF (a Northern Irish paramililtary group), murdered a 19-year-old Catholic, Jim Griffin, in Lurgan. It was witnessed by Jim's younger brother, Joe. Thirty years later Joe Griffin (James Nesbitt) and Alistair (Liam Neeson) are set up to meet, on camera and arranged by the media. The aim is to reconcile, but Joe has different motives.