Two rival gangs of children battle out their differences in a unique manner in this is remake of the 1962 film. It is set in two neighboring villages, Carrickdowse and Bally during an unnamed era in a remote part of southwestern Ireland. Each town has it's own gang of children. The tale is told by Marie, a former Bally girl. The gang in Carrickdowse is very neat. They always wear their school uniforms with neckties. Their leader is Geronimo. The Bally kids are less genteel; they are often dirty and rambunctious. Fergus is their leader. The war begins when insults are thrown when the two gangs meet on a bridge. To retaliate the Ballys deface a church in the other town. Then they capture Geronimo and steal the buttons from his shirt. When the Carricks do the same to Fergus, the war of the buttons commences.