It's the late 1800s and the birdcatcher Esmar and his wife Johanna are trying to survive on the harsh dramatic cliffs of the Faroe Islands. Local law dictates that unless they have a son, an heir to the hold on their land, they will be evicted. When Johanna gives birth to their third daughter, with time on the lease running out, they become desperate. A friend, innkeeper Livia, suggests that the only way for Johanna to have a son might be to be impregnated by another man. It's unthinkable, but they are pushed to the brink. When they employ Livia's lover, the French Captain to do the deed, none of. them can understand the ultimate consequences of their choices.