Benton and Olivia are traveling to LA so that Benton can sell some of his art to an enthusiastic buyer who pays him double what he could get in New York. Nick picks them up, Benton sells his pieces, then he returns to the hotel where he is staying with Olivia. Just before they're set to go to dinner, Olivia takes a call, where she is informed that she and Benton's relative, Wesley, has died. He went out on a boat on a lake with a friend and soon after, all that is found of them are two life-vests. The trio flies out to Connecticut to mourn with the family, despite Nick not being related in any way, simply a longtime friend to Benton. When they arrive, they're greeted by a cold winter and various relatives all mourning in one freezing house. Benton confronts his ex, with whom he has a son that he hasn't seen in a long time. The family is uncomfortable and claustrophobic with one another, everyone unable to cope in healthy ways, so they turn to drugs, alcohol, and general escapism. Nick and Elizabeth go out one night, her commenting on how she's jealous of him for being admired in Wesley's photographs because she's only ever the center of attention for laughs. She notes that while almost everyone in the family is artistic, they all hide their work from one another, fearful of that intimacy. That night, she and Nick have sex at a motel, then return to the family house, which is just getting firewood delivered to heat the room up. Meanwhile, Benton has been trying to warm up to his son, Jason, playing with him and paying him the attention he's been deprived of for so long. The family discusses looming death, as with Uncle Cal's worsening health, and their general unhealthy tendencies when drinking. They call it an early night, and Benton tells Jason a bedtime story about evolution, how dinosaurs one day became deer.