Plot

A group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in the U.S., arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.

Four Sudanese children orphaned after their village is massacred in the Second Sudanese Civil War make an arduous, dangerous trek through the plains, enduring hardship, death, and sacrifice all the way until they reach safety in a refugee camp in Kenya. Years later, these youths are among 3600 selected for resettlement in America, only to have the one girl among them sent to Boston, while the three boys must make a new life in Kansas City. Together, these young men must adjust to an alien culture as the emotional baggage of their past haunts them. However, these newcomers and their new friends, like employment counselor Carrie Davis, strive to understand one another in this new home as they make peace with their histories in a challenge that will change all their lives.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

"The Good Lie" begins with a group of children living a happy, carefree life in Sudan until rebel forces massacre their village. The surviving children are forced to flee and do their best to stick together as they attempt to walk to Kenya. On their journey, they encounter other refugees and walk hundreds of miles in search of a refugee camp. During their journey, Theo, the eldest and chief, sacrifices himself to rebel soldiers by stating he is alone while his brothers and sister hide in the tall grass. The tattered group eventually ends up in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, where they are reunited with several children they knew before the attack. Ultimately, four of the siblings--Mamere, Jeremiah, Paul, and their sister Abital--are chosen to go to the United States. The three young men end up in Kansas City while Abital is separated from her family and placed with a host family in Boston. The movie depicts the young men's struggles acclimating to their new life, such as adjusting to a vastly-different culture, exposure to drugs, and worrying about dangerous animals. Employment-agency counselor Carrie Davis assists them with job placement, helps them search for their sister, and becomes their closest friend and supporter. Each is hired for a job fairly suited to his skills: Mamere wants to study to be a doctor, Jeremiah is extremely religious and ultimately works with a church, and Paul likes to build and works in a factory. Carrie tracks down their sister Abital and adopts her. Abital receives a letter from Theo informing her that he is at the refugee camp in Kenya. Mamere travels to confirm Theo's identity and attempts to secure paperwork so he can travel back to the United States; as he's unsuccessful, he gives Theo his identity to travel to the U.S. while he stays behind to work at the refugee camp as a doctor.—Holly

In 1983 a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan between the North and the South over religion and resources. The Northern armies and militia destroy many villages. By 1987, thousands of orphaned children begin to flee on foot across sub-Saharan Africa to Ethiopia and Kenya. In some cases, they had to walk thousands of miles. 13 years later, 3600 refugees would be relocated to the US, and were called "The lost boys of Sudan".

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, siblings Mamere (Arnold Oceng), Theo (Femi Oguns), Daniel and Abital (Kuoth Wiel) escape after their families and village are massacred. The village was attacked by a helicopter gunship from the North Sudan army, followed by horse riding militia, who set the village on fire.

Theo is the eldest and is declared chief, after their mother and father are both found killed. The family survives by stealing kills from other wild predators such as the Cheetah. Abigail is the only female in the group. After numerous days of walking in the wilderness (260 miles towards Ethiopia) & scavenging for food (and drinking their own urine as they don't have access to any water), they join a group of refugees. The siblings meet Jeremiah (Ger Duany) and Paul (Emmanuel Jal) as part of the refugee group. Paul is a water diviner. After walking roughly 570 miles (South towards Kenya), the group is caught by enemy soldiers and many people are killed. The siblings and their 2 new friends had already left the group before it was attacked, and they crossed a river to the other side.

After sleeping in the grassland, Mamere wakes up and spots two enemy soldiers approaching them. Theo hides the rest of the siblings in the grass and lies to the soldiers that he is alone. He is taken in custody with the soldiers. The group eventually arrives at a Sudanese Kakuma refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya (after walking nearly 800 miles), where Daniel succumbs to disease and dies.

Thirteen years later, the siblings are grown up now and have a life in the camp. Mamere is smart & is under training of the camp doctor. The camp doctor is very confident that one day Mamere will become a doctor in his own right. Among the thousands in the camp, the siblings are chosen for relocation to the United States. They will have a few months to find a job in the US and they would have to repay the cost of the flight back to the US Government. They are assigned a birth-date of 1st Jan, as there would always be a party, no matter where they are.

On arrival in New York City in Spring of 2001, Abital is unexpectedly told that she is to leave for Boston, where a family awaits. INS rules state that female immigrants have to stay with families. As their sister tearfully leaves, Jeremiah, Mamere and Paul board the flight to Kansas City, where they meet Carrie Davis (Reese Witherspoon), a brash employment counselor, who helps them find jobs, and Pamela (Sarah Baker), who provides them their house and support. Carrie was told to pick up the boys from the airport, when the regular liaison failed to meet them on time. The guys are taken aback by this brash, unmarried woman who claims that she provides for herself.

Mamere tries to convince Pamela to help him regroup with her sister, but Pamela expresses her helplessness at doing so. Carrie is initially unable to get the guys any work as they have no work experience and zero social skills. But eventually Carries takes the help of her friends to teach the guys some social stuff and introduces them to the concept of lying. They find jobs. In Sep 2001, after the attacks in NYC, the refugee program is suspended indefinitely.

Jeremiah works at a grocery store and teaches Sunday school at a local church, but later quits the job because he was caught giving old food to a homeless person rather than throwing it away. Paul works at a factory and makes friends with his co-workers, where he is exposed to drugs. Jeremiah has to meet Carrie again to help him fix another job interview. He tells her that their nickname for Carrie is Yardit, which means Great White Cow.

Paul becomes increasingly erratic at work and one day is found by the police vandalizing property. Carrie & Mamere go to bail him out. When Mamere confronts Paul, Paul accuses Mamere of letting Theo be captured by soldiers. Had Theo not sacrificed his life, Memere would not have been alive. Paul rejects Mamere as his chief and pushes him away. The next day the boys make up. Carrie finally sees the rift in the family since Abital is not part of it. She agrees to become a host herself and convinces Pamela to approve of her as a viable host. She starts Abigail's transfer process from Boston.

Mamere takes two jobs as a store clerk and a security guard to pay for schooling, as he aspires to become a medical doctor. On Christmas Eve, Carrie arrives at their home with Abital and the Lost Boys of Sudan celebrate their birthday on January 1, as they had never known the date when they were born.

Abital receives an anonymous letter stating that someone entered the refugee camp in Kenya searching for the group. Thinking it is Theo, Mamere travels to Nairobi and searches the refugee camp after they tell him that Theo is not registered. After meeting James, an old friend, he is reunited with Theo the next day. Mamere tries to get immigration papers to multiple embassies and fails, but tells Theo that the "task" was done. At the airport, Mamere reveals to Theo that he could not get him a passport and instead gives Theo his own passport - a deception that is the 'good lie'. After a tearful farewell, Theo leaves and is embraced by his family upon arrival in the United States; Mamere remains in Kenya and works at the camp hospital.