In contemporary United States, an Iraq War veteran living in a sleepy cul-de-sac is greeted by a new neighbor: a mentally ill war widow who has macheted the tires of each of her neighbor's cars. When the veteran discusses how to deal with the widow with his neighbors, they nominate the veteran to greet the neighbor and de-escalate the situation, rather than call the police for her vandalism. The veteran reluctantly enters the neighbor's home, and is brutally assaulted by the widow. The veteran's neighbor, a retired psychology professor named Howard, drives the veteran to the hospital. The veteran is treated and discharged that day. Howard reveals that he knows the widow, as she is a patient of one of his former students. After the widow's husband died, the widow had no place to live, so Howard arranged for her to move into the neighborhood. A severe tropical storm approaches the neighborhood. Howard warns the veteran to arm himself, as the widow has taken a possibly violent fixation on him. The veteran prepares his rifle and boards up his house in preparation for the storm and the possibility of the widow attacking him. The veteran gets a phone call. The caller ID indicates that the caller is Howard. When the veteran picks up the call, the line is dead. Worried about Howard, the veteran journeys through the storm to his house. Howard isn't home. The veteran goes back home, where the widow has broken in. The veteran, armed with a rifle, interrogates the woman. As they talk about the war and the loss of the widow's husband, the veteran suddenly feels sympathy and solidarity with the woman he had once dismissed as crazy. The woman suddenly storms out of the house and is swept away by the storm.