In Philippi, the water level in Lake Okatukla begins to fall due to the blazing heat. It’s a serene lake frequented by hundreds of fishermen. A few years ago, Anna Glover and two of her three sons, Ralph and Steve, and Ralph’s friend, Murray, went to the lake’s Yacht Club. A Black woman named Estella who used to work for the family calls out to them and they catch up with one another about family life. Anna invites her to spend the day with them and she obliges. 

A man named Gaines Williamson tells Estella she is too big for the boat they’re boarding and Anna waves him away. After the sail for a while, they find an alcove in the shade to rest in and eat. While the children swim, Estella and Anna drink on the shore and Estella talks about her husband James while Anna wishes that Estella come back to work for her family again. Suddenly, the two women spot a water moccasin in the water and they try to stab it with sticks. The children help and they succeed in killing the snake and saving the fish from certain death. 

Estella tells Anna about how she believes in magic, but Anna is skeptical and says such ideas cannot be proven. The family eats lunch and they pack up and board the boat again. Suddenly, a storm comes along, filling the boat with water. Estella, who can’t swim, starts to frantically scoop the water out of the boat. After some struggle, they all end up in the water. The children are held up by life jackets but Estella clutches on to the side of the boat. When the boat drifted away, Estella grasped on to Anna, pulling both of them under water. Anna manages to prop Estella up on the boat again and then turns to her children who are screaming for help. 

Estella loses track of the boat again and clings onto Anna who realizes that it is either her or Estella who must drown. Thinking of her children, she tries to drag her friend by the belt, along with the kids, towards shore. Gaines Williamson comes to their rescue and pulls the children into the boat. By the time they heave Estella out of the water, she is unconscious and presumed dead. 

While people at the dock try to revive Estella, a policeman interviews Anna about what happened. Anna’s husband shows up and Estella miraculously begins to breathe. At the hospital the next day, Estella thanks Anna for saving her life and says she doesn’t remember the afternoon. Estella tells Anna she sees a man outside of her window, which her husband attributes to the medicine the hospital is giving her.