Eastern Cape, South Africa. A lonely factory worker, Xolani, takes time off his job to assist during an annual Xhosa circumcision initiation into manhood. In a remote mountain camp that is off limits to women, young men, painted in white ochre, recuperate as they learn the masculine codes of their culture. In this environment of machismo and aggression, Xolani cares for a defiant initiate from Johannesburg, Kwanda, who quickly learns Xolani's best kept secret, that he is in love with another man.

In late 19th century Montana, an artist seeking inspiration explores the landscape with his Native American guide, and finds his conceptions of himself and of the world around him challenged. In 1970s Barstow, California, a questioning youth's mundane existence is given a shot of adrenaline by the arrival of a new exchange student who envelops them within her own lust for life. In present-day Wyoming, a trans teenager works through his self-destructive feelings with his perceptive, non-binary therapist.

From front rooms, Black families, friends, students and older generations navigate British and American society today.

Crave is an intimate character study about an alienated African musician with a secret lust for human blood.