Set in Melbourne in the mid-1970s, "Cut Snake" tells the tale of Sparra Farrell, an ex-convict who is trying to make a new life for himself. He has found honest work and becomes engaged, but the joys of his new life are challenged when his dreaded and charismatic cell mate Pommie hunts him down. Soon, Sparra finds himself drawn back toward a world that he was so very close to leaving behind.