Birdcatcher Esmar and his wife Johanna face eviction from their farm in Gásadalur unless they have a son. Desperation sets in when Johanna gives birth to their third daughter. Pushed to the brink, Johanna is impregnated by another man, a French Captain, and gives birth to a son, known as ‘the birdcatcher’s son’. Everything seems perfect until the French Captain returns.Plot Summary It's the late 1800's 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.