Fleur Pillager is a Native American girl who lives on a reservation. She nearly drowns twice in her life; she is saved by bystanders the first time and inexplicably survives the second time. Afterwards, her demeanor changes significantly, and anyone involved in her "drownings" drowns themselves. Due to the seemingly cursed state she has come into, many people become afraid of her, so she moves away from the reservation to the town of Argus. There, she begins to work for a butcher, alongside a young girl who works there with her stepfather. The other men who work at the butcher's are very aggressive and cruel, but Fleur is unfazed by their behavior, and is much kinder to the girl than to the other workers, including the girl's stepfather. At some point, Fleur begins to play cards with the men, which surprises everyone, especially the girl, who watches unnoticed by everyone but Fleur. The men begrudgingly allow Fleur's entry, but soon become entranced by the fact that she always wins one dollar from their games, no matter how many times they play. This confuses and frustrates the men, who become obsessed with making her win more or less money at least once. They eventually do, but only when Fleur wins all of the money they have saved up for the occasion. She refuses to play more once she gets all the money. The men are enraged by this, and they attack Fleur that night. The next day, a tornado forms right over the town and destroys the butcher shop. The young girl narrowly escapes. The men are eventually found to have been forced to hide in the freezer; they froze to death around a card game. Fleur survives, and goes to live on the very lake that almost drowned her.