Color of the Ocean dramatically connects the lives of three unrelated individuals: Jose, a hardened cop; Nathalie, a naive tourist; and Zola, an undocumented African refugee. German director Maggie Peren deftly weaves their stories together with the tough issues of illegal immigration and the moral question: Am I my brother's keeper?

After years working as a border patrolman, José (Alex González) is cynical about his work. His skepticism is tested when he encounters Nathalie (Sabine Timoteo), a German tourist assisting a boatload of refugees she discovers landing on the Canary shores. One of those refugees, a Congolese man named Zola (Hubert Koundé), is placed in an internment camp. Nathalie tries to help him despite her husband's objections. But Zola and his son Mamadou quickly find themselves in yet another precarious situation, where they are dependent on nefarious smugglers.

Questions of responsibility repeatedly arise and haunt all concerned as they grapple with the knowledge they cannot know for certain if their actions will make matters better or worse.