Mayan villager Jaguar Paw lives a peaceful life in a small village with his pregnant wife and young son. One morning the village is attacked by a raiding party from the capital city. The raiders kill many of the villagers and take a number prisoner including Paw. Before he was captued, though, Paw managed to hide his wife and child in the village's dry well. Paw and the other prisoners are taken to the capital to be sacrificed, but an eclipse saves them from death and Paw is able to escape, closely pursued, though, by his former captors. Paw is in a race against time to rescue his wife and family from the rapidly rising well as he avoids his pursuers.