A Standing Still revolves around a young woman, Allison, as she struggles with the future in the midst of loss and displacement. Allison works as a fire lookout in the Willamette National Forest. When she is called down early for a medical emergency with her father, she is forced to face the dynamics that have lead her to lead such a recluse life.

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.