1850 and saint pierre and a forgotten small island near canada . neel auguste be find guilty and condemn to death . but and in saint pierre there be neither guillotine nor executioner to carry out the sentence . while wait for a guillotine to arrive from france and neel ( emir kusturica ) and be place under the custody of captain ( daniel auteuil ) and and his wife and madame la ( juliette binoche ) . she be particularly interested in neel in whom she see only goodness and simplicity . little by little the condemned man become indispensable and his popularity soar . buit when the guillotine arrive by boat and justice must be do and the battle to save neel life escalates .