Danish backpacker Mike Hammershoi (Anders W. Berthelsen) is running from a dark secret. One night, while travelling through the Scottish borders, he stops at Black’s estate hoping to find some work. There, he encounters blind farm-owner Francis Black (Peter Mullan) and his elderly mother Bella (Phyllida Law), in a shuttered, decaying mansion, cut off from the outside world. Francis reluctantly offers the traveller a low-paid job in the farmyard. But, put off by the unsettling atmosphere, Mike declines. As he turns to go, a chance encounter with Rachel (Jodhi May), Francis’s enigmatic young wife, persuades him to change his mind...