On the second to last day of summer school in 1984, Calvin and Jason Schott hijack a school bus carrying 19 students, an unthinkable act of violence that devastates the community of Brookwood. Thirty years later, Brenda and Emily Mashburn --- twin sisters and survivors of the ordeal --- are forced to relive the kidnapping as they film a documentary about the event in an attempt to thwart Calvin's looming parole hearing.

Meanwhile, Jason fights for his brother's release, hoping that a reunited family can finally bring peace to their elderly mother and ease the guilt he feels over his role in the kidnapping. The result is a feud between the two families, with neither side willing to back down.

Inspired by the largest kidnapping-for-ransom scheme in American history, TIME WILL BREAK THE WORLD weaves a rich backdrop of place and circumstance --- long-term trauma, dysfunctional family legacies, sibling rivalry, a granite quarry, and the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.