Nightjars are medium-sized birds that are active at dusk and in the night, closely related to whip-or-wills. Like those birds, they are superstitiously viewed as harbingers of disaster or death.
Devonshire, England. 2001. One of the worst outbreaks of foot and mouth disease is spreading throughout the nation. Desperate measures are called for, and all herds within three kilometers of an infection are being culled.
Michael’s farm is one of them. Despite his efforts to keep the infection from his herd – his “girls” – a nearby farm is infected. (CONTINUED)