Set in Norway in 1942, The Bird Catcher follows the life of a young Jewish girl, Esther, after her father has been arrested by the Nazis. Her safe, middle class life falls apart and she is forced to go on the run to survive. She ends up in the middle of nowhere on a farm owned by Johan, a Nazi sympathiser, where she tries to remain unrecognized. Her only real friend is the farmer's son, Aksel, who knows the truth. Aksel suffers from cerebral palsy and has been taught by his father that Jews are not people, but as he gets to know her he begins to identify with her; he too is not accepted for who he is...