Femke, her mother Trijn and her grandfather have very different ideas about how to run their farm. Tensions between mother and daughter are growing, as Femke wants to switch to sustainable agriculture, whilst her mother considers this an attack on tradition. To make matters worse, the Dutch province of Groningen is experiencing a series of earthquakes, and Femke increasingly comes under the influence of an ambitious young female farmer. While the cracks in their farmhouses increase, the relevant authorities and the state-owned gas company keep refusing to help the local farming community.

In Breaking Ground, Saskia Goldschmidt investigates what it means to have your identity intensely entwined with your place of birth. And how to keep standing when the world as you know it is slowly falling apart.