Based on a true story, James Gregory, a typical white Afrikaner, regards blacks as sub-human. Having grown up on a farm in the Transkei, he learned to speak Xhosa at an early age. This makes him an ideal choice to become the warden in charge of Nelson Mandela and his comrades on Robben Island. After all, Gregory speaks their language and can spy on them. However, the plan backfires. Through Mandela's influence, Gregory's allegiance gradually shifts from the racist government to the struggle for a free South Africa. Goodbye Bafana tracks the unlikely but profound relationship between these two men. The story, which documents how Mandela became the most inspirational political figure of the modern world, poses the question: Who is the prisoner?