In 16th-century Scotland, young Sawney Beane yearns to itch and scratch and buccaneer. So he bids farewell to his parents and their life of honest toil. Forty years on, Mr. Beane croaks his dying wish to Betty, his wife. "Go and find our lost son." And so Betty strikes off on her quest across the land, with the family savings in a hankie and a secret suspicion in her heart.