Anna and Aleks are song collectors–tracking down and recording obscure Irish folksongs to sell them to a network of rich collectors. Via the mysterious ‘mentor’ Agnes, they hear about a woman, Rita, who is rumoured to have songs that have never been recorded. They track her down in the remote Irish countryside but find that Agnes has beaten them to it. But Rita refuses to sing for her. Anna gains her trust by unplugging her hidden recording device, and Rita sings a ballad in an ancient tongue that has been passed down from mother to daughter in her family, telling the story of an ancient atrocity. They leave, but Agnes has surreptitiously recorded the song. Rita is viciously murdered by an unseen killer, and her body is found by her middle-aged son, Breezeblock, who vows to find his mother’s killers.