Somewhere in Ireland, two young men approach a crippling old man at his farmhouse. They offer to paint his farmhouse, and before answering, the old man wants to know if they are Polish. Although they aren't actually painters or Polish, they say yes, and the old man agrees because they are most likely good Catholics.

That night, the woman of the house gets home. She is angry that the old man agreed to this without her approval. The woman and the old man are distantly related, but their further relationship is unclear. The old man seems to think the only reason he is around is because of his retirement pension.

When the young painters return to paint the farmhouse, they notice the house has grown silent. The woman, who used to bring them tea twice a day, now leaves it outside at random hours. The crippled man has disappeared. One day, the painters discover a newly dug garden and assume the crippled man has died and is buried there. They finish their painting and travel on to find more work, leaving the woman and her house behind.