Set on the small Aran Islands community of Inis Meáin off the Western Coast of Ireland, in 1934, the inhabitants are excited to learn of a Hollywood film crew's arrival in neighbouring Inis Mór to make a documentary about life on the island. "Cripple" Billy Claven, eager to escape the gossip, poverty and boredom of Inishmaan, vies for a part in the film, and to everyone's surprise, the orphan and outcast gets his chance