It’s 1965, and capital punishment has just been abolished in the UK.
In a dingy pub in the north of England, the landlord, Harry, who until recently was known as ‘the second-best hangman in Britain’, holds court.
Surrounded by a motley crew of sycophants and hangers-on, he relishes the celebrity his profession has brought him.
His wife works behind the bar; neither seems to notice that their anxious, awkward teenage daughter is ripe for exploitation.
The arrival of a mysterious stranger from London creates an atmosphere toxic with suspicion.

A pitch-black Olivier Award-winning comedy from the master of darkness, Martin McDonagh, the multi-award-winning writer of plays The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and The Lieutenant of Innishmore, and the films The Banshees of Inisherin, In Bruges, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.