"Bull" McCabe (Richard Harris) has spent three decades tending a rented field on the bluffs by the sea in Ireland. When the wealthy widow who owns the plot decides to sell it, she holds an open auction upon intimidation from Tadgh (Sean Bean) Bull McCabes son. All do not go according to plan when a wealthy american (Tom Berenger) appears at the auction and outbids the The Bull, and all hell breaks loose.