In Macduff's castle in Fife, Lady Macduff comforts and is comforted by her young son, who displays a courage beyond his years when confronted with the possibility that his father has turned traitor. Although warned by the Thane of Ross to escape before it is too late, Lady Macduff is encountered by Macbeth's henchmen, who brutally kill first her child and (as the audience learns in the following scene) her.
