Portrait of a Young Man Drowning

With his side bleeding, a man called Shadow limps through a black and white landscape of burned out buildings, funeral processions, and memories that are in color. He wants to bathe, to clean his wound, but he finds no one willing to let him use their water. The residents of the township capture a young man accused of rape. The two men's paths cross and Shadow's place in society is revealed. Will the blood wash off?